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CONFIDENTI AL
Private Secretary
c.c.
PS/Lord Privy Seal
PS/Mr Blaker
PS/PUS
Sir A Duff
Mr Murray
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VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
1.
The Secretary of State sent a minute to the Prime Minister on 8 June urging the Prime Minister's agreement that we should now say clearly that we will accept the Roachbank refugees. I understand that the Prime Minister has said that she will agree so long as we can guarantee that we will not have to take refugees picked up by any additional British ships. This is a guarantee which we cannot give unless we are prepared to leave British shipowners to hold " refugees on board their ships indefinitely. We cannot get them out of their legal obligations to pick up persons in distress at sea except by denouncing a treaty for which a year's notice is required and changing of the law.
2. The following points are relevant:
00.
Other countries who have undertaken to receive refugees rescued by their own vessels include West Germany, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Greece and Hong Kong.
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These include therefore, the vast majority of Western ship-owning countries operating in the area. Notable exceptions, are the Soviet Union, eastern European countries and flags of convenience such as Liberia and Panama.
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b.. The first port of call principle is not a legal requirement and almost all countries in the Far East are now refusing to observe it. In particular the Chinese have refused to do so in the case of the British ship Norse Viking which picked up 40 refugees and has been off the port of Wampoa. The Japanese have invariably
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