CONFIDENTIAL
FM FCO
TO DESKBY 29010OZ HONG KONG
TELNO 1988
OF 28103OZ JULY 88
RFC
CONFIDENTIAL
HKCD 24318
29 JUL 1988
LESK OFFICE!
INDEX
PA
576
115540
MDHOAN 1329
OP COPY
DIST 7
INFO PRIORITY SINGAPORE, MANILA, JAKARTA, BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN INFO PRIORITY WASHINGTON, CANBERRA, OTTAWA, TOKYO, PEKING INFO PRIORITY UKMIS GENEVA, KUALA LUMPUR, BANGKOK
VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE : TALKS WITH VIETNAMESE : 3-5 AUGUST
1.
WE WERE GRATEFUL FOR HANOI'S VIEWS ON STRATEGY (HANOI TELNO
269): FOR YOUR FURTHER VIEWS AND THE DRAFT SPEAKING NOTES IN YOUR TELNOS 2791 AND 2793-4: FOR UKMIS GENEVA'S COMMENTS (UKMIS GENEVA
TELNO 418): AND FOR WASHINGTON TELNO 1794. THIS TELEGRAM SEEKS
TO PULL THE THREADS TOGETHER.
GENERAL STRATEGY
AS
2. OUR GENERAL APPROACH TO THESE TALKS REMAINS ESSENTIALLY SET OUT IN OUR TELNO 1859. WE AGREE WITH THE THINKING IN PARA 1
OF YOUR TELNO 2791. THE WATCHWORD IS CAUTION. WE DO NOT EXPECT
ANY EARLY BREAKTHROUGHS AND WE MUST TAKE CARE NOT TO RAISE EXPECTATION PREMATURELY (PARTICULARLY IN THE MEDIA). YOU SHOULD
ALSO KNOW THAT MINISTERS CONTINUE TO HAVE STRONG RESERVATIONS
ABOUT THE PROVISION OF AID IN CONNECTION WITH A REPATRIATION
PACKAGE. THE TEAM WILL CLEARLY HAVE TO LISTEN TO WHAT THE
VIETNAMESE SAY, AND TO UNDERTAKE TO REPORT ANY SPECIFIC PROPOSALS. BUT THEY SHOULD BE CAREFUL TO AVOID ANY COMMITMENT.
3. WE SHARE YOUR VIEWS ABOUT THE UNDESIRABILITY OF THE
VIETNAMESE GETTING INVOLVED IN THE SCREENING PROCESS. WE FIND REPORTS TO THIS EFFECT SOMEWHAT CURIOUS. NEVERTHELESS, WE AGREE THAT IT WOULD BE SENSIBLE TO HAVE PREPARED LISTS OF THOSE
SCREENED OUT AND TO BE READY TO HAND THESE OVER IF APPROPRIATE.
4.
*
WE WOULD BE GRATEFUL IF CLIFT COULD TAKE A ROBUST LINE ON THE
NEED FOR REPATRIATION TO COVER INVOLUNTARY AS WELL AS VOLUNTARY
CASES (SEE PARA 6 BELOW). BUT WE ACCEPT THAT FOR PRAGMATIC
REASONS IT MAY BE DESIRABLE TO FOCUS PART OF THE DISCUSSION ON
CLEARING THE BACKLOG OF VOLUNTARY CASES, SINCE EARLY CONCRETE PROGRESS, EVEN OF A VERY LIMITED KIND, WOULD HELP TO SEND A CLEAR DETERRENT MESSAGE. WE WOULD BE INTERESTED TO KNOW HOW MANY
VOLUNTARY CASES YOU NOW HAVE.
DRAFT SPEAKING NOTE (YOUR TELNO 2793)
5.
WE ARE GENERALLY CONTENT WITH THE DRAFT, WHICH SEEMS TO US TO
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