D/OP/I(R) FED 528/400/01
Copy for file: DEF 75/51/02
TOP SECRET AND PERSONAL
GUARD
Page 80 82.
16th March, 1959.
Awed by (283)
We have been considering the effect of the reduced size of the long-term garrison on the arrangements for the evacuation of British subjects from Hong Kong in the event of an emergency.
2. As seen from here it seems that, unless (to put it mildly) circumstances were particularly favourable, the garrison would be too small to cover anything like the full implementation of any evacuation plans. Grantham used to take that view; see, for example, paragraph 5 of his letter of the 7th March, 1957, to Johnston. Yet the directive of the Commander, British Forces, still includes as its third task -
"(c) in extreme emergency, to cover the evacuation of families and
loyal civilians to the greatest extent practicable."
(4) FED 528/400/0100
We have consulted the Chiefs of Staff Secretariat about the possible need to make the directive more realistic; the reply was that, because the adequacy of the size of the garrison is so doubtful, it is considered best for the directive about evacuation to be left broad, so that CEF would remain free to do the best he could in any emergency. We agree with that view, because we are regretfully convinced that any attempt truly to reconcile the potentialities of the garrison and the terms of the directive about evacuation would lead not to the highly desirable result of reinforcing the garrison until it could undoubtedly cope with evacuation but to the most undesirable result of watering down the terms of the directive even more than at present or perhaps cutting out from it the evacuation task altogether. We imagine you will take the same view as we do on this point.
3. The question remains whether the evacuation plans themselves, as distinct from CBF's directive, should be tailored to fit the size of the long-term garrison. In his letter mentioned above Grantham took the view that the existing plans (DIGIT and BITING) should be retained in the hope that future decisions on the garrison would ensure that our resources, either by themselves or with American assistance, would be sufficient to enable the plans to be carried out. This certainly seems a matter where aiming high is better than aiming low. should like to know what you think.
But we
Sga (W. I. J. Wallace)
SIR ROBERT BLACK, K.C.M.G., O.B.E.,
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
VICTORIA,
HONG KONG
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