TNAG-0559-FCO40-654-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-into-othe-1975 — Page 27

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which put this in doubt or cut off ASEAN's links with the three Indo-China countries. Spectacular initiatives (such as a message)

were premature and all Netherlands' embassies had had reservations about acting as a group in ASEAN countries (where the Nine as a whole were not always represented). A study might however be made of economic relations between the Community and ASEAN as a means of promoting political relations and Mr Klaus suggested that the Commission should take a leading role in this. 5. Mr Kapel (Denmark) said that their embassy in Jakarta had suggested an agreement between the EEC and ASEAN countries on the lines of the Lomé Convention. Taking up this point, Mr Hansen said he thought this idea arose from the Study Group meeting on 26 June when the ASEAN representatives had mentioned the possibility of an export earning scheme similar to that contained in the Lomé Convention. The Commission's position on this was that they were in favour of extending the Convention to other developing countries and were willing to establish export arrangements for certain commodities. However the Community had to work within certain financial limits and whilst the Lomé Convention covered 250 million people (and only 120 million if Nigeria, which could look after itself, was excluded) the rest of the developing world contained 2 billion people. An export earning scheme for such a vast number would not be practicable unless Japan, the US and the new oil rich collaborated with it.

II Korea

6.

In discussion of the friendly resolution at the UN, Herr Wegner (FRG) said that he had the uneasy feeling that coordination amongst the Nine in individual capitals in the Third World was not all that it might have been. The Korea question would stay with us after the General Assembly and he thought that the Nine should discuss the problem substantively and not merely react to resolutions. In particular, the Community should decide to what extent it wished to support the "Western position", at present governed by the interests of the US and Japan and of South Korea. Mr Kapel explained the difficulties Denmark had had

reconciling its desire for balance in its relations with North and South Korea and the security position on the ground. This was the reason why Denmark had not co-sponsored the friendly resolution.

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