TNAG-2120-FCO40-3026-Hong-Kong-Garrison-future-of-the-Royal-Navy-presence-1990 — Page 220

چری

SECRET

DRAFT TELEGRAM TO HONG KONG SECURITY DEPARTMENT

For Wotherspoon Security Dept for Hatfield Sec (0) (C)

Redacted lunder FOI exemption 27(1)

RN Presence in Hong Kong

1. Further to our meeting on Friday on the Defence Costs

Agreement, this is to confirm HMG's position, at official level, on the future of the RN Presence in Hong Kong.

2. At present the garrison withdrawal plan assumes that the three Peacock patrol craft will leave Hong Kong in 1991/2, with their residual tasks being taken on by MARPOL. The 1988 DCA was drawn up and agreed on the basis of this withdrawal plan as have our forward defence programming assumptions. Consequently there is no financial provision for running on these craft after 1991/2 and, as important, no manpower

planned for them. Our assessment is that there has been no substantive change in the military position since the withdrawal plan was drawn up and that therefore the military case is in itself insufficiently strong to justify the retention of an RN presence. Certainly in defence programming

terms we would be reluctant to see this additional commitment displace other items of greater military priority.

3. We do however recognise that there are political factors favouring retention of an RN presence,

SECRET