Hong Kong. Thai participation in any interception operation needed to be encouraged and suggestions for stationing a Thai warship in Hong Kong or to use British naval vessels for putting Thai officers from Hong Kong on suspect trawlers, although raising obvious and serious difficulties, would be explored further with the appropriate British and Hong Kong authorities. A preliminary examination of the legal and political difficulties that would be involved in intercepting the vessels near Hong Kong had been made and this would be followed up at forthcoming discussions between Hong Kong and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It was agreed that any further examination of this solution consequent upon these discussions would have to continue between all concerned, probably in Hong Kong.
It was noted that the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea was to con- sider a proposal that in international waters there should be powers of arrest and search of vessels on suspicion of carrying narcotic drugs. This had not yet been reached for discussion.
3. The Involvement of the Peoples' Republic of China, Vietnam and
Cambodia in Enforcement Arrangements
It was thought that in the longer term the Peoples' Republic of China might have a significant role to play in enforcement arrange- ments in SE Asia. At earlier tripartite meetings the possibility of involving the PRC had been fully considered and it had been agreed that it must be approached with caution. The possibility of the President of the INCB going to Peking should not be disregarded. This idea might be mentioned to Sir Frederick Mason informally by the UK delegation.
Consideration was given to ways of maintaining contact with Vietnam and Cambodia about narcotics enforcement. Interpol would be testing the existing communication channels, but it was agreed that no other action would be appropriate until the new Governments' responses to the invitations to the next meeting of the operational heads of drugs law enforcement agencies in SE Asia were known.
4.
The Crop Substitution Programme in Thailand
It was suggested that the crop substitution programme in Thailand offered the greatest hope of a solution to the opium problem in that area and was sufficiently important to warrant enlisting the help of European Governments in its expansion and acceleration. It was agreed, however, that as the present programme was still in the experimental stage it should be allowed more time to demonstrate its success and that a practical plan for expansion would need to be devised by those directly concerned, ie: the UN Fund for Drug Abuse Control after proper evaluation of the present programme.
5. A Review of Responses to the Problem of the Production of
Opium in the Golden Triangle
It was suggested that the responses to the problem of drug trafficking in the Golden Triangle should thoroughly be reviewed again in the light of the changing political situation in SE Asia to see whether any new initiatives could be devised. A meeting of local representa- tives under a neutral umbrella to discuss this question might be of
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