TNAG-2675-FCO40-3872-Hong-Kong-garrison-withdrawal-plan-1993 — Page 169

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FM FCO

TO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG

TELNO 293

OF 261816Z MARCH 93

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HKA 063/1

30 MAF 1993

DESK C

DEX

PA

INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG

PERSONAL FOR PS/GH FROM RICKETTS, HKD

28

RY

REGISTRY Action Taken

YOUR TELNO 429: HONG KONG: GARRISON WITHDRAWAL

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116564

MDHOAN 0836

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McBurke

72913

1 I should let you know where things stand on

things stand on the points raised in your TUR.

2.

Mr Rifkind's Letter to the Governor covering a copy of the MOD's outline policy paper has not yet issued. We understand that this is because Mr Hamilton has intervened to ask the MOD Staffs to consider a more radical option involving the early withdrawal of one battalion in order to help ease the pressure on British forces arising from Bosnia commitments. Mr Rifkind has asked for more details of this idea and its implications before writing to the Governor. We have urged the MOD to get something to the Governor well in advance of his meeting with Mr Rifkind on 15 April. But it will inevitably take a little time for MOD to digest this latest idea in even a preliminary way. I think therefore that you should not expect to receive Mr Rifkind's Letter before the Governor's arrival in London (but I hope it can

be extracted soon after that).

3.

The idea of a more radical pruning of the garrison over a short period would obviously help with costs in due course, although it is not yet clear that it could yield savings in FY 93/94. It would also, of course, raise wider issues which Ministers and the Governor would need to consider, perhaps in OPD (K). I wanted to alert you to this development early on, but I would be grateful if you did not reflect knowledge of it back to the MOD, for the sake of our working relationship with them.

4.

Meanwhile, Sir T Daunt has, as promised, been pursuing the question of costs. He tackled the Vice-Chief of Defence Staff on the need to show a declining trend in overall costs starting from FY 93/94, and on the need for much greater transparency in MOD's discussions with HKG.

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