Venown
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Royal Air Force jet squadron and have been reduced,
andy
(159) du aly 25/51/02 by cabinet decision to three Venoms, with a life
an
Paul B.
(144)
And they have wash it clean
that 6 najn
that we can
unit are all
afford
Ÿ Hing- long want
it burst
again
only of about another 18 months to 2 years, and a
training aircraft. We have also become aware mea
only that the forces based on Hong Kong are to be
Fruithin auste
cut down considerably, but also that the whole of the
and Naval forces Hong Kong are
Far East station/s to be reduced. We do not know
former
the extent of the latter/reduction, but Hong Kong forces
themselves are to be cut from 10 seaward defence motor
launches and 6 motor minesweepers to one destroyer or
frigate and 6 inshore minesweepers.
7.
When the Governor came to see the Chiefs of
Staff in August of 1957, he was quite rightly very
concerned about the cumulative effect of the force
withdrawals and the general weakening of Britain's
position in the Far East
ourselves in Hong Kong.
selvener
on our ability to maintain
He explained to the Chiefs
of Staff the significance of events which would follow
if we did not maintain the minimum forces for internal
security.
F
ttial
wore them
8.
Aay to them.
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The Chiefs of Staff concluded:-
"However, to the extent that our financial position will not allow us to maintain forces at adequate levels, if anything is to be achieved in the long term, some fresh approach to the problem must be made. Our suggestions are:-
(a) Political: Urgent consideration
should be given to some sort of
negotiated settlement with the Chinese Communists concerning the future of the Colony. This step must be taken at some date prior to expiry of our lease of the New Territories in 1997 and the sooner we face the issue the better.
(b) Economic: In the interim, any
additional forces that are judged to be necessary to maintain the position until a settlement with the Chinese is reached should not be borne on U.K. votes, and further consideration should be given to maintaining these forces from Hong Kong financial resources.
#t
This is the only indication that the Chiefs have
given that the forces in Hong Kong are not at adequate
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levels,
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