British Embassy
CONFIDENTIAL
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1571
W Webb
PA
16/3
121578.
See 1580
Your reference
1619A
Our referense--
ARK WILL.DE
HAH Cortazzi Esq, CMG
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
LONDON S W 1
My dear Hugh,
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
Data. 13 August, 1979
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NC. 51
1.6 AUG 1979. M
DESK OFFICER INDEX
RE
Simo
By Mr Auferay
PA
Action
H.KLA
Ukmis Seawa UKMIS New York Mr Woodfield Stong.
1. I promised to let you have a slightly fuller note of the points
which arose in discussions with Ambassador Dick Clark and with Holbrooke during your visit to Washington yesterday.
offer
19/0..
2. You explained the importance we attach to securing effective debate at the General Assembly; and that this would require the inscription of a separate item, so that one did not just rely on the UNHCR report as a peg to hang things on. I would be ideal if the ASEANS could propose this but so far only Singapore and Thailand seemed to show any interest. Perhaps there might be something to be said for getting a country like Australia to take a hand. You also mentioned the possibility of persuading Sweden and Japan to use their aid to Vietnam as a lever. The idea of putting pressure on Vietnam was to control the outflow, and ideally improve conditions within Vietnam for those who lived there. You said we were worried by the implications of mercy ships. On reprocessing centres you underlined the importance of ensuring that Hong Kong was included among the sources from which refugees would be taken. You reminded the Americans of Hong Kong's firm policy against refoulement and underlined how important it was that Vice President Mondale should give public recognition to this when he visited Hong Kong on 1 September and should make it clear that the United States would not allow Hong Kong to be penalised for this commendable attitude. You urged that Mondale should also give an undertaking that the United States would do its best to raise its offtake above 2,000 before the month of September.
3.
Ambassador Clark said it was hard to stop mercy ships when they were privately run. So far as concerned the 7th Fleet, there had been some misunderstanding of what President Carter had meant by his announcement. The 7th Fleet which was already in the area had merely been re-directed so as to bring it into more contact with refugees, but no new ships were being sent out there. As for the four ships which had been designated for transporting refugees from camps to reprocessing centres, these were not rescue-at-sea ships and would only pick up refugees if in the judgement of a captain they were in distress and would otherwise die. The same was true of the 7th Fleet.
CONFIDENTIAL
/The fact
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