TNAG-1461-FCO40-1987-Future-of-the-Dependent-Territories-Hong-Kong--Gibraltar-and-1986 — Page 85

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2.2.3

Crime and Terrorism. The small Caribbean states

are increasingly exposed to the former (drugs being a special menace) and could be both breeding grounds for and

victims of the latter. A protecting state like Britain finds it hard to keep the lid on these problems (vide drug trafficking in the Caribbean). It can be, and is, argued however that at least we have wider international experience

- not least of the financial ramifications and larger

resources to deploy than any fledgling government could

muster. Independent territories that turned into drug and terrorist entrepôts could be costly to Western interests;

and specifically national interests too if the UK became a

target for Caribbean based drug traders. The question is how much is HMG prepared to pay to make a contribution to

prevention.

2.2.4

Attitudes to Dependent Status. British and international attitudes to dependent status have altered for these and other reasons. De-colonisation has been largely dropped from the agenda of the developing world, and the Commonwealth is now preoccupied with ways of giving small states additional protection. The evident lack of interest in independence shown by the dependencies themselves has been a further factor (there are of course exceptions such as the dispossessed Ilois). Domestically Grenada and the Falklands both tended to highlight and rally support for our continuing obligations, and there was a marked lack of outcry, domestically as well as internationally, over our resuming a greater degree of control in the Turks and

Caicos. It is less clear whether there is unconditional

support for large long term costs (vide the Falklands) when things go wrong.

2.2.5

Alternative Options. While many theoretical

options still exist as described in Section IV of the Research Department paper - no alternatives have presented themselves in the last 13 years that generally appeal to dependent populations while giving them the necessary security and sound government. Regional security

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