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145504 MDRIAN 9263
IN VIEW OF THE SCALE OF THE DAMAGES SO FAR.
5. THE KUALA LUMPUR CONFERENCE WAS THE SUBJECT OF A LONG-ISH REPORT BY THE IMB, INCLUDING A PROPOSAL FOR A REGIONAL PIRACY CENTRE OF THE IMB. THE JAPANESE HAD URGED REGIONAL COUNTRIES TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATIONS AND FAST REACTION SYSTEMS. OVERALL THE MAIN BENEFIT OF THE CONFERENCE HAD PROBABLY BEEN TO RAISE AWARENESS.
6. THE JAPANESE HAD NOT YET FORMED A VIEW ON OUR IMO PROPOSAL. IN GENERAL, THEY FAVOURED A MIX OF BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL APPROACHES, BUT THEY WERE NOT CURRENTLY CONSIDERING FURTHER BILATERAL DEMARCHES, FOLLOWING THEIR ACTION IN JANUARY/FEBRUARY, AND THEY BELIEVED THAT BEFORE MULTILATERAL ACTION WAS TAKEN WE NEEDED MORE RESEARCH INTO THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM, IN PARTICULAR WHERE THE PIRATES CAME FROM AND WHO THEY WERE. ONE GROUP ARRESTED HAD COME FROM SULAWESI, OTHERS WERE UNEMPLOYED WORKERS FROM THE BATAAN DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME. ONE REPORT HAD SUGGESTED PIRATES HAD TRAVELLED TO THE MALACCA STRAIT FROM THE PHILIPPINES. THERE WERE REPORTS OF COLLUSION WITH LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN INDONESIA. BUT LITTLE OF THIS INFORMATION WAS RELIABLE. IF WE COULD DISCOVER MORE ABOUT THE PIRATES, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO TACKLE THE PROBLEM AT ITS ORIGINS, EG THROUGH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
THORPE
YYYY
MAIN
70
AMD
SEAD
HKD
LAD
WED
NAD
FED
ADDITIONAL
2
DISTRIBUTION
72
SPD
WAD
LEGAL ADVISERS
PS/MR LENNOX-BOYD
PS/MR GOODLAD
MR BONE
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