DSR TIC
;
· CONFIDENTIAL
10 -
is being canvassed among the ASEAN countries for the
establishment in the region of an island processing centre,
where refugees could be taken for a temporary period prior to
departure for permanent resettlement. The Indonesian
Government have offered an island for the purpose if certain
conditions are met. The idea, if implemented, could relieve
the pressure, for a time at least, on countries on the
periphery of the South China Sea, at the risk of creating an
intractable and expensive longer term problem. It would not
reduce the need for offers of further resettlement places fro
the international community: the Americans, for one, are
favourably disposed to the idea and hope that it would
stimulate increased offers.
19 The Governor of Hong Kong is strongly in favour of the
idea and has urged HMG to support it. He is particularly
concerned that if the idea goes ahead without British backing
Hong Kong might be excluded from the scheme. This could make
Hong Kong's position even more difficult. The UNHCR is :
studying the proposal but sees a number of difficulties about
it and wonders whether it is in the ultimate interests of the
refugees. The FCO's view is that, while pointing out some of
the difficulties, we should exppess support for the proposal
if it is the wish of the High Commissioner for Refugees to
implement it, and play our part in any further international
discussions.
CONCLUSION
20 It could be argued that the response of the inter-
national community has not been commensurate with the
magnitude of the problem, but it is hard to see what more
could have been done given the speed with which the