TNAG-0617-FCO40-765-Strength-and-cost-of-UK-armed-forces-stationed-in-Hong-Kong-1977 — Page 137

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SECRET AND PERSONAL

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

Sir M MacLehose GBE KCMG KCVO

HONG KONG

31 May 1977

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Dan Memory,

BRUNEI BATTALION

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1. I was very grateful for the prompt comment in your telegram No 500 in response to my plea for a personal view on the importance to Hong Kong of keeping the Gurkhas in Brunei. Strictly for your own information (please safeguard this letter) we had a deadline to meet for a DOP Memorandum for the Secretary of State to circulate to his colleagues; the material in your telegram added to what we had already prepared, eventually enabled Lord Goronwy-Roberts to have a little flexibility in the next round of talks with the Sultan, which we hope will take place by next week. (Hope is the operative word.) In fact your telegram was so interesting that we have copied it to the Ministry of Defence and are still talking about it: John Stewart or I will be writing in due course.

2. I should add that your personal letter of 18 May which we have not circulated outside the FCO - arrived just in time for us to add a word or two to the Secretary of State's brief for discussion with other Ministers. John Stewart will now be using it as background guidance when talking with the Ministry of Defence. I found it immensely logical.

DF Murray

SECRET AND PERSONAL