TNAG-2240-FCO40-3219-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Royal-Navy-presence-1991 — Page 116

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PATROL CRAFT AN ADDITIONAL BURDEN ON RESOURCES RATHER THAN

POTENTIAL SAVING

True that at an earlier stage (ie well before Tiananmen)

it had been assumed for planning purposes by the MOD that the patrol craft could be withdrawn before 1997.

But no

inter-departmentally agreed decision was taken.

- An over-simplification, therefore, to see non-withdrawal

as an additional burden.

Since June 1989, the case for the retention of the craft,

on political and military grounds, has strengthened.

Redacted Under FOI Exemption Sec 27(1)

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