TNAG-2404-FCO40-3491-Hong-Kong-defence-and-public-order-1992 — Page 153

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CONFIDENTIAL

NPT 070/3

Reference......

(Mr Cox)

Assistants:

CSAD

HKD

NENAD

SPD

EAD

LAD

SAD

WAD

Eastern Department FED

MED

SEAD

WED

NAD

SED

ROYAL COLLEGE OF DEFENCE STUDIES (RCDS) 1993

ihr Ricketts

WIAD

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Qw 1415

1. I attach at Annex A for your information a list of countries which MOD officials have submitted for approval by the Chiefs of Staff. If the list is approved, NPDD will be asked to issue invitations please therefore say nothing yet to posts.

2. The list is a result of more protracted and complex negotiations than usual, owing to the conflicting aims of Options for Change and the need to admit new countries, not least from Eastern Europe. As you know, NPDD sought the guidance of your departments on regional priorities before attending MOD meetings on the selection of students. We did not achieve everything you wanted, but we are reasonably satisfied that given the range of interests around the MOD table for 1993, the list represents the best deal we could strike.

3. But there is a further complication. The MOD, RCDS, the Services and the Treasury are involved in a wrangle over a possible reduction in College Senior Directing Staff (SDS) provided by the Services. MOD officials suspect that Chiefs of Staff could decide to cut an SDS, thereby triggering the College Commandant's intention to reduce the number of overseas students (which for the first time would otherwise exceed UK numbers). In that event the Chiefs could ask for a reduction in the invitation list and a revision of the reserve list. NPDD were invited to a meeting to draw up a contingency list of cuts to meet these possible demands. The timetable for handling the 1993 invitations will be very compressed after the Chiefs' decision: officials felt it necessary to plan ahead for the worst case should the Chiefs call for cuts of students and SDS. NPDD said at the meeting that they had no authority to agree to cuts without further consultation and indeed challenged the need for cutting students as a result of cutting an SDS. NPDD are submitting separately on the need for high level consultation between the FCO and MOD should there be a serious intention to cut overseas numbers.

The

3. Nevertheless, you should be aware of a risk of cuts. RCDS course is, after all, run by the MOD, and despite our protests on principle, we may find ourselves faced with a reduction. Your views therefore on the list of contingency cuts would be useful now, so that if necessary we could draw on them to advise the MOD of our priorities. In preparing the contingency list below, officials looked first at those countries that had more than one place already allocated in the list at Annex A: they then moved on to identify other countries that in

CONFIDENTIAL