CONFIDENTIAL
Reference
99.8.
00
A
181
B
(188)
Attached to 190
Ć
D
197
Mr Burton
Mr Clift
Letter to issue
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
1.
%
No
HAK 243/1
MTPB
inya Af 20) a 17/9
On 2 September, Hong Kong Government sent a telegram to Hanoi asking for an assessment of:
2.
(a)
(b)
the extent of knowledge in Vietnam of the recently introduced closed camp policy, how this could be widened and whether the policy had produced any comment from the Vietnamese authorities;
the likely outflow in the next 6 months;
(c) what effect, if any, the orderly departure
scheme is having; and
(d)
the effectiveness of Vietnam's countermeasures,
Hanoi has now replied. Their outlook is pretty pessimistic, and hints strongly that the outflow is more likely to increase than decrease because of the lack of improvement in the internal situation in Vietnam. I don't think we need to take action on this now, but I suspect it may spur Hong Kong into considering imposing some sort of harsher measures. You may wish to touch on this when you see Mr Jeaffreson on 17 September.
3.
One example of what HKG may have in mind is the draft operational order entitled 'Opposed Towing of Craft' which MOD have obtained from CAPIC HK, and on the legal implications of which they have sought our comments.
Mr Burrows has made some comments that I shall pass on to MOD: he has also raised the wider question of the political acceptability of such action. This is of course something that we should have to consider carefully if the HKG was proposing to introduce a policy on these lines, but we do not know that this is the case: the operational order is only a draft one and is the sort of thing one would expect to be worked up as a precautionary measure. It may, however, do no harm to let HKG know that this has come to our attention. I attach a draft letter to Bim Davies for your consideration.
Rohlfare
CODE 18-77
SS 8/78
15 September 1982
CONFIDENTIAL
R J F Hoare