CHINESE military chiefs are demanding land to base troops at Hong Kong's new airport and on the Central and Wan Chai reclamation site in a bid to secure both physical and symbolic strength, it was revealed yesterday.
Guarantees of accommodation on Stonecutters Island and the takeover of a Garrison sports club in Kowloon have also been requested by the mainland delegation to the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group (JLG), sources close to the JLG said.
It is hoped that a deal can be struck after seven years of talks at today's meeting of the JLG defence and public order sub-group, although it is expected that any decisions will have to be approved at the plenary session of the full JLG, scheduled to take place this month in Beijing.
Long negotiations have taken place over the future of parts of the military estate, but sources said an end was now in sight, with most of the mainland requests having been met.
As well as the full list of sites now occupied by the British Garrison, the Chinese have asked for land at Chek Lap Kok airport - the first time such a request has been revealed - and additional space on Stonecutters Island, which is home to the new HMS Tamar Royal Navy base, as well as being developed as a government dockyard.
The Prince of Wales Building, which houses the headquarters of the British Forces, is to go to the People's Liberation Army (PLA), but a piece of land which will occupy a similar position on the waterfront after the Central and Wan Chai reclamation project has been completed has also been requested.
