IT'S Independence Day.
In the waters just kilometres away from Fenwick Pier in
Wan Chai, one of the most sophisticated weapons systems
on the planet drops two 30-tonne anchors. On board are 70
jet fighters and assorted aircraft - plus 5,000 US Navy
personnel. The USS Independence, at 300 metres in
length, dwarfs the huge cargo ships that sail respectfully
past.
"Freedom's Flagship" is a self-contained city with its
own ATMs, 50-bed hospital, television station (Indy TV)
and newspaper (The Declaration). The carrierŐs flight deck
area is 4.1 acres. Over 380,000 gallons of fresh water is
produced each day, while 200,000 pounds of laundry is
washed per month.
With seven other battleships and two submarines, the Indy
has arrived from open sea manoeuvres to disgorge its crews
for a little R&R in Hong Kong. About 8,000 American
sailors (who will spend over HK$30 million in under five
days) are about to hit the territory's shores.
One man stands between the fleet's 8,000 servicemen and
Hong Kong - SIP Simon Hannaford of Ops Wing, Police
Headquarters.
Under the UK's Visiting Forces Act, all foreign military
personnel visiting Hong Kong come under the provost or
authority of the Commander of British Forces, who has the
right to police all military forces in the territory
regardless of their national origin. Until recently, the
duties of the Royal Military Police included briefing,
supervising shore patrols and generally liaising with
visiting naval forces.
With the handover a week away and the dwindling British
Forces in a state of withdrawal, since April 1996 the Hong
Kong Police have taken over their role in terms of
liaising with visiting foreign militaries.
"Under RHKP's
Operations Wing, we have more or less assumed the job of
the Royal Military Police and provide the services they
once did to all visiting forces. Today, the Hong Kong
Police is responsible for all military liaison. It is
through us that the RHKP officially makes contact with
all visiting military forces,Ó s ays SIP Hannaford who,
together with US Navy Lieutenant Commander Steve Shapro,
is aboard a small launch heading for their briefing session
with the US fleet.
This is the last time that the US Navy will enter Hong
Kong waters under British rule. "After the handover there
will be some minor alterations, but as far as Ops Wing,
the Hong Kong Police and the visiting forces are
concerned, it's business as usual,"adds SIP Hannaford.
Right now, the RHKP's duties fall mainly into two parts:
briefing foreign naval personnel when they land here; and
then liaison work with regard to shore patrols.
It's SIP Hannaford's job to brief arriving foreign naval
personnel about Hong Kong, its laws and regulations, its
police force and police procedures, what should happen if
there's an arrest, what to do in case of an emergency, as
well as providing crime prevention advice and useful tips
like passengers have to pay double the tunnel fee when
crossing the harbour. You'd be surprised how many arguments
between taxi drivers and sailors that little bit of
information has prevented.
Senior Inspector Hannaford has briefed naval servicemen
on French, Australian, Canadian, Thai and other South East
Asian vessels. Most of those navies support small crews
of 90 to 150 personnel, who don't tend to mount shore
patrols. The largest, by far, is the US Navy with over 60
ship visits a year - that's more than 60,000 sailors
coming into Hong Kong on an annual basis. Over the past
decade there have been relatively few arrests of US Naval
personnel, which says a lot about the US Navy, but also
about the shore patrol liaison duties performed by the
British Military Police - and now the Royal Hong Kong
Police.
Says US Navy Lieutenant Commander Steve Shapro, who runs
the American Navy's Supply Corps in Hong Kong and is
stationed at Fenwick Fleet Arcade, Fenwick Pier: "The US
Navy takes shore leave very seriously. We have facilities,
and provide a variety of activities, for our personnel to
partake of when in the territory. But we never forget that
we are guests in Hong Kong so our servicemen and women are
instructed to behave themselves in no uncertain terms.
"At the same time, the US Navy has learned a lot from
the police in Hong Kong. We appreciate their way of
removing a problem from the street quickly - then resolving
it at the police station. Now, if our Shore Patrol officers
see a potential problem developing that involves US Navy
personnel we will get it off the street before it gets out
of hand."
Usually three days before the US Fleet arrives, their
Shore Patrol officer, his assistant and their legal advisor
are flown into Hong Kong aboard one of their own aircraft.
They are given an orientation tour of the city and are
taken to the Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui police stations
(two favourite Districts of foreign sailors) to meet RHKP
personnel and to discuss policing and the deployment of
Shore Patrols for maximum effect. SIP Hannaford also
takes them through RCCC HKI where they are shown the
Force's 999 Emergency system. The information acquired is
then used to brief the Shore Patrol personnel.
Foreign naval Shore Patrol members are not armed and they
have no enforcement powers in Hong Kong. "They are there
strictly as a deterrent to their own servicemen," says
SIP Hannaford. "And they are successful as deterrents -
which is what we want. If they see a situation developing,
the RHKP accept that they can step in and stop, say, a
fight.
"All visiting forces are clearly instructed that there
are no exemptions from Hong Kong law. Police reserve the
right to deal with offences against the laws of the
territory. However, some minor offences we allow the
visiting forces to deal with under their own regulations
- the punishments handed down are often more severe than
those given by Hong Kong magistrates."
SIP Hannaford sees the RHKP's duties of briefing
foreign naval personnel before they land here, and then
liaison work with regard to Shore Patrols, as beneficial
to visiting navies, as well as in the best interests of
Hong Kong. "If people are made aware of the kinds of
situations in Hong Kong, if they're given details of how
to travel around, given crime prevention advice, and so
forth, then it will make the visit go much more smoothly
for both sides,"he said. "They will enjoy themselves -
and we won't have to turn up every ten minutes to arrest
sailors or whatever. Everybody's happy and that's what
we're aiming for."
After the handover when China resumes sovereignty of Hong
Kong, it will have three patrol craft based here and will
be treated as the British Navy is at the moment, in that
they fall under the provost and control of the Chinese
Military and will obviously not be subject to supervision
by the Hong Kong Police.
"All other visits by foreign militaries will have to be
cleared by the new Chinese Foreign office in Hong Kong,"
says SIP Hannaford.
"Once that's done, we see the arrival of foreign forces
in Hong Kong as very much a law and order issue. Therefore
we would like to continue the supervision of Shore Patrols,
the briefings, etc. Business as usual."
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