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fulfilment of this responsibility we currently maintain a garrison of four infantry battalions (three Gurkha and one British), a Gurkha engineer squadron, five naval patrol craft, and a squadron of RAF helicopters.
18. The presence of British forces in Hong Kong serves as a constant and visible reminder of the British commitment to Hong Kong. The principal current tasks of the garrison are to maintain border patrols and to assist the police in preventing illegal immigration. In the event of serious internal disturbances land force units would
be available to assist the police in restoring and maintaining order. In practice they have never been employed in that role in the urban areas, even in 1967.
19. Under the Defence Costs Agreement concluded in December 1975 the Hong Kong Government now meet 75% of the total costs of the garrison (which amount to about £50 million in 1978/79). The current agreement runs until 1982 and it might at that stage be possible to negotiate a further small increase in the Hong Kong Government's share
of the total cost. But it would be undesirable to reduce the
British financial contribution much below its present level: the pyschological impact of the presence of British forces (paragraph 18 above) would be much diminished if they were paid for entirely by
the Hong Kong Government.
20.
As times goes on it may become less easy for the British Services to provide forces for the Hong Kong garrison and to earmark reinforce- ments. It will nevertheless be necessary to do so for the foreseeable future: it is difficult to imagine circumstances in which the garrison could be withdrawn, or reduced to a token strength, without very serious consequences for confidence in Hong Kong. It should, however, be borne in mind that the Hong Kong commitment has its
/advantages
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