Copy of Minuter-oris on
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FED 528/400/01
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The Directive for the Commander British Forces in Hong Kong is at Appendix A to the Annex to (200) on DEF 75/51/02 (1954/56 papers); this Directive. was approvied at (296) on the same file. As far as I know it is still in force and certainly includes evacuation as one of the Commander's tasks. It became quite clear in the context of discussions in London in connection with the Anglo/American Working Group that no one here, least of all the Chiefs of Staff, was in much doubt about the unreality of the require- ment on the Commander to cover evaucation, especially if numbers of the order of 16,500 or 10,000 plus the garrison ((29) on FED 528/400/01 refers) are involved. It seems to me that
both we and Hong Kong might just as well know where we stand, even if it is in a pretty shaky position, and now that we have at long last got the level of Hong Kong's garrison finally settled it seems to me a good moment to ask the Chiefs of Staff to gave another look at the Directive. I attach opposite a draft letter conson.
Sga. A.J. Fairclough.
11/8/58.
(P.S. Please see related draft on DEF 280/51/01)
Itld. A.J.F.
11/8
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1.
CONFIDENTIAL ANNEX
ΤΟ
C.O.S. (58)84TH MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY, 1ST OCTOBER, 1958
MEETING WITH SIR ROBERT SCOTT
SIR WILLIAM DICKSON welcomed Sir Robert Scott, the Commissioner General for South East Asia, to the meeting and invited him to give his views on the future of Malaya and Singapore and from his consideration of the political factors involved to suggest what the policy should be for future deployment of British forces in the Far East.
SIR ROBERT SCOTT said that he approached the problem by deciding what the defence policy should be in the Far East in ten years time and then considering what dispositions should be made now in order to implement this policy. It was clear from a consideration of new weapons, the cost of military forces and probable political development that the only suitable place for a main support area in the Far East was Australia. The present military partnership between Britain and Australia should be developed and extended especially with regard to the Navy and the Air Force. A support area should be developed in Australia and fully equipped with depots, domestic accommodation and training facilities.
An assessment should be made to decide what minimum military force was required in Malaya and Singapore. This force might be considerably smaller than the one and a third Divisions allowed by the Defence Agreement. The building programme should be reduced to meet only this smaller requirement.
Facilities should be provided in North Borneo for one battalion on a permanent basis and a training area developed with temporary accommodation for a brigade. These facilities would be supplementary and not alternative to those in Malaya and Singapore and battalions could visit Borneo in rotation.
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