§ Dr. MarekTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy with regard to the amount of defence costs in Hong Kong to be borne by the United Kingdom; and what are the implications of the Sino-British joint declaration for those costs.
§ Mr. Ian StewartNegotiations on a successor agreement to the current defence costs agreement with Hong Kong are in hand. Under the provisions of the joint declaration we remain responsible for the defence of Hong Kong until 1997.