§ 2. Sir G. Nabarroasked the Minister of State for Defence whether he will make a statement on proposed establishments at Singapore and elsewhere east of Suez, following recent consultations with Commonwealth and other allies in South-East Asia and elsewhere.
§ Lord BalnielThe British forces to be stationed east of Suez are set out in the Supplementary Statement on Defence Policy, 1970, and in the Statement on Defence Estimates, 1971. As my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs announced yesterday we shall also continue to station a Gurkha battalion in Brunei. As regards the Gulf, I would refer my hon. Friend to the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary's statement on 1st March.—[Vol. 817, c. 380–2: Vol. 812, c. 1227–32.]