243/2
P Morgan Esq
UN Department
FCO
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Ry
Enterey // 225 / 2
BRITISH EMBASSY
BANGKOK
که
اهل
RECEIVED IN.
í
RES
51
28FEB:9077
i+KK 243/330/1
19
17 February 1977
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
1. Thank you for your letter of 1 February on this subject. As you will see from the enclosed copy of a letter from John Brooke to Sally Bull, Miss Rice-Jones of the Standing Conference has recently been in touch with us about Indo-Chinese refugees.
2. We do not recall seeing any reports in Bangkok of British ships failing to pick up refugees at sea who were in danger. Many stories of this kind circulate here, but they usually do not specify the nationality of the ships involved.
3. Brooke has spoken to Khun Lanjul by telephone about this. Lanjul said he had recently received a letter from James Thomson asking him to find out about cases where British ships had failed to render assistance. But Langul said he did not know why Thomson should think British ships had been involved. There was no evid- ence to suggest this, or indeed to identify any nation's ships as having acted in this way.
4.
Lanjul undertook to let us know of any incidents involving British ships of which he might learn; and we shall of course
But it does let you know of anything we find out elsewhere. rather look as if these rumours are, as you have already made clear, not substantiated by any evidence.
R Goring-Morris
Cc: (without encls) Miss S M Bull MVO
SEAD, FCO
Maritime and General Dept FCO
Hong Kong Department
FCO
Far Eastern Dept FCO
Chancery
UKMIS Geneva
Mr Forward
Marine Division. D.O.T.
RESTRICTED