TNAG-0586-FCO40-719-Aid-from-UK-for-Vietnamese-refugees-in-Hong-Kong-1976 — Page 60

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RUSHFOR

Mr Rushford

HONG KONG:

COVERING CONFIDENTIAIReference.........

LEGAL ADVISERS

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES

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1. On 4 July a Burmese registered and State-owned vessel, the "Ava", picked up 98 passengers from a sinking vessel about 200 miles south-east of Saigon. The vessel regularly sails the Rangoon-Hong Kong- Japan-Rangoon route and, since Hong Kong was its next port of call, the "Ava" went there. On arrival on 4 July it sought to disembark the shipwrecked persons. It appears that the persons picked up by the "Ava" were refugees from Vietnam, at least, they have been regarded as such by the Master of the ship and by the Hong Kong authorities. The latter, with our concurrence, decided against allowing the refugees to disembark in Hong Kong. The reasons for this decision are set forth in Mr O'Keeffe's Submission of 13 July. The "Ava" was allowed to dock on 14 July in order to take on fresh supplies, and three of the refugees, including a newly-born child, were taken ashore for hospital treatment.

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2. The question has arisen of the responsibilities of the Burmese and Hong Kong Governments in respect of the refugees. At Hong Kong's suggestion, we have sought to argue that the Burmese authorities should assume responsibility for the refugees picked up by the "Ava" (see in this connection, paragraph 6 of Mr O'Keeffe's Submission). On 15 July we authorised News Department to say that we considered that the refugees aboard the "Ava" were a Burmese responsibility. (FCO Tel No 134 of 14 July to UK Mission Geneva). In the event, News Department have told me that the absence of press enquiries, they have not had to ue this formula. The proposition that the refugees aboard the "Ava" are a Burmese responsibility has been challenged by the office of the UK High Commissioner for Refugees. Their view - reported in UK Mission Geneva Tel No 208 of 15 July is that "a merchant vessel can no longer be regarded as a floating piece of territory of the country whose flag it flies". Moreover, the Master is not an agent of that country and is not empowered to grant temporary asylum on board. The 1910 Brussels Convention requires him to pick up people in distress on the high seas, but the question of asylum can only be sorted out at the ship's first port of call.

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3. In view of the legal position adopted by the UNHCR, Mr Cortazzi, when he saw the Burmese Ambassador on 15 July, based our request to the Burmese Government for cooperation in flying the refugees to Rangoon, where they might be given temporary resident status, pending permanent resettlement elsewhere, on humanitarian considerations (FCO Tel No 67 of 15 July to Rangoon). In other words, we refrained from suggesting that the Burmese Government had a direct responsibility to help. Meanwhile, Hong Kong said

Find that they would it difficult to consider themselves bound by the UNHCR's interpretation of the legal position unless other major ports in the region felt equally bound and would offer first asylum to people in the same situation as those on the "Ava" (Hong Kong Tel No 712, paragraph 5, of 16 July).

14. The Burmese

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COVERING CONFIDENTIAL

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