TNAG-1173-FCO40-1465-Future-of-Hong-Kong-special-study-by-FCO-for-the-Prime-Minis-1982 — Page 82

From: Mr D H Powell

SEGRETT

Defence Secretariat Division 11 MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

Main Building Whitehall London SW1A 2HB

Telephone 01-2182466 (Direct Dialling)

01-218 9000

Mr RJ F Hoare

HK&G Department FCO

(Switchboard)

Page 1 of

Your reference

Our reference

+ Enclosure

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B PS11/6/7

1 page

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27 August 1982

никаю

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$120/

Doar Richard

Hong Kong Study

•

Hosts Afila

1. We discussed the difficulty this Department has faced with your draft annex on Defence and Internal Security. Without seeing the context of the study paper and the conclusions reached we are unable to judge whether all relevant defence implications have been fully evaluated; nor can we assess whether there might be different con- siderations that might lead either to alternative conclusions or to a better underpinning of those you have already proposed. In this context any separate consideration of the Hong Kong Police would seem to belong more naturally to an overall consideration of the future difficulties in maintaining law and order. I am not therefore in a position to give my Department's endorsement to this annex as being our considered input to your paper.

2. I am, however, able to enclose some amendments which would enable the present text to stand more accurately as a factual statement of some of the considerations. Although, I have to repeat, these should not be regarded as giving an MOD endorsement of the annex as it stands.

3. My Secretary of State has expressed a personal interest in the future of Hong Kong and expects to see the full study before it is sent to the Prime Minister.

Encl

Your's

David

SECRET

SECRET