ג.
for the Prime Minister, I agree with him that it would now make sense to wait until after her visit to Washington, and until after SC3, and to use the intervening period to put ourselves into the best possible position internationally to proceed with the first non-voluntary return quickly thereafter.
3 The submission covers the question of further negotiations with Vietnam at my suggestion. It bears repetition that we cannot carry out any non-voluntary returns at all without Vietnamese agreement. If we wait until after the first successful repatriation before approaching the subject of further flights with the Vietnamese we risk a delay of weeks or even months before we can mount a second operation. On the other hand, the risk that we might put the Vietnamese off entirely if we start discussing further returns before the first flight has taken place cannot be discounted. On balance, but only on balance, I agree with Mr Colvin's conclusion and recommendation in paragraph 8 of the submission. But I remain uneasy about this aspect.
26 October 1989
CC: PS/Mrs Chalker
PS/Lord Brabaron PS/PUS
Mr Gillmore
Mr Paul, HKD
Mr Burns, News Dept
Mr Manning, ODA
luvanje
R J T McLaren
CONFIDENTIAL