Lut
SECRET
B M Norbury Esq
Head of Defence Secretariat
No. 11
Ministry of Defence
Whitehall
London
6 January 1978
HKK 0622!
حماه
Y KO. 51
RECIVIO
- JAN 1978
DESK OFFICER
INDEX
No
PA
'See 13
Taken
HONG KONG: INTERNAL SECURITY
1. The Governor of Hong Kong who has been on leave in the United Kingdom has now returned to the territory and has seen the recent exchanges about Brunei. He has told us of his concern, particularly in the light of the recent events involving the police in Hong Kong, that the reinforcement identified in the Joint Theatre Plan No. 30 (3rd revision) should still be made available within the time framework laid down there.
10/
2. In Brian Cousins' letter D/DS6/46/66/1 of 18 May 1977, he said that "we have however tended to assume that once the Brunei negotiations have been brought to a conclusion there must be consultations with the Hong Kong Government on the implications for their security in the absence of any secure or prompt reinforcement capability before any public announcements are
made"
3. I should be grateful if you could now let me know what assurances I can give to the Governor about reinforcement time- tables, and let me know your thinking on the consultations with the Hong Kong Government foreshadowed in Brian's letter of 18 May, assuring - as I fear we must that the Sultan of Brunei remains obdurate and therefore that we will start to withdraw the Gurkha Battalion in 1978. It would also be useful if I could let him know your intentions about the timetables for the removal of the Rurkhas and any plans for future stationing of troops in Brunei.
4. I have also been asked to suggest that the time has probably come to consider how we make it clear to the Bruneis, if we withdraw the Gurkha Battalion, that we would want the training
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