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if widely known and we should therefore reconsider..at some. suitable time whether the backing of United States nuclear weapons should not be made known publicly. He understood the objections to joint planning with the Americans for countering subversion, and suggested that paragraph 10(e) of the report should be deleted and some reference to the subject should be put in the cover note of the report.

In further discussion THE COMMITTEE agreed that:

(a)

(b)

X

(c)

(a)

(e)

The sequence of planning set out in paragraph 10

of the report should be adopted, with the exception of paragraph 10(c).

Any detailed military planning must be carried

out in the Far East.

A note on the lines proposed in the report should

be forwarded to Ministers.

Authority should be obtained from Ministers for the

disclosure, if required, to the United States authorities, of the forces available for the defence of Hong Kong up to 1962, and of their objectives in general terms on the lines of the cxisting directive to the Commander, British Forces Hong Kong.

A brief should be prepared for the use of the United

Kingdom representatives on the Anglo/American Working Group on the lines of (d) above. Although there was need for urgency in the preparation of this brief there was no objection to referring to the B.D.C.C.(F.E.) for any details which might be

necessary.

(f) The British Defence Co-ordination Committee (Far East) should be kept informed of the state of negotiations

(g)

(h)

It would be .dvicable for the Canadian, Australian

and New Zealand Governments to be kept informed in general terms of the negotiations now being undertaken.

Should negoviations reach a satisfactory conclusion,

it was important that U.S. backing of British defence plans for Hong Kong should become known to the Chinese Communist Government. The method and timing was a matter for the Foreign Office.

THE COMMITTE::·

(1) Took note of the report by the Joint Planning Staff

and approved the sequence of planning proposed, with the exception of paragraph 10(c).

(2)

Invited the Chairman to take the necessary action as

agreed at (c) and (d) above.

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