TNAG-2239-FCO40-3218-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Royal-Navy-presence-1991 — Page 80

SAAD

3/ Mr Garel-Jones PS/ Lord Caithness

PS/PUS Sir J Coles

FCS/91/145

DEFENCE SECRETARY

Mr Broomfiel Sir A Watts Mr Beamish Mr Goulden

Mr Burns

1.

NPOD HKO WIAD

CONFIDENTIAL

(95

нків 063/1

14/

25 JUN1991

Mr Sony or

Ms

GF 25. Coghi BAR

News Deck

Special hongers

Dame

1816

HMS Endurance

Thank you for your minute of 11 June about

MA

istn'

HMS Endurance. I have also seen Stephen Wall's letter of

14 June recording the Prime Minister's misgivings about scrapping Endurance.

2.

There are, of course, a number of elements in the

defence of our Dependent Territories of which Endurance

is one.

Others are the garrison and Royal Naval presence in Hong Kong and arrangements for the defence of the five

Caribbean Dependent Territories. I hope that we will

have an opportunity to discuss these defence issues in which we have a particularly strong foreign policy interest as a whole.

3. In the meantime, I share the Prime Minister's concern

about the political cost of scrapping Endurance. The islanders and the Antarctic lobby have been assured in

the past that Endurance will continue its work until the middle of this decade and then be replaced. Despite the changed security circumstances, Endurance has important

symbolic significance to the Falklanders and the

Argentines alike. Both would see the withdrawal of

Endurance as a reduction of the British commitment to the

South Atlantic. We have also seen in the last week that

the pro-Endurance lobby is vocal and active.

CONFIDENTIAL