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3. (contd)
which the war on the Thai front attracted, the war with the Vietnamese (and Laotians) was much more serious. The Vietnamese had had to divert a lot of attention to this problem, which was also a cause of friction in their relations with China, so long as the Chinese still supported the Cambodians. There were signs however that the amount of Chinese aid going to Cambodia might be on the decline. Although some observers reckoned that these Cambodian wars were prosecuted by local commanders, the Americans believed that a good deal of the initiative came from the centre, who were having to cope with what amounted to a state of civil war. Given the chaotic history of Cambodia over the last decade it was not surpsing that insurgency should continue even after the communists had captured Phnom Pynh.
4.
Mr Lahiguera mentioned that air services had been resumed between Thailand and Laos and he was hoping to go up to Laos again in the near future, as he was now coordinating all regional reporting on Communist Indo-China in the absence of any specialist in the US Embassy in Thailand. The fact that this problem had finally been resolved suggested that the Laotians and Vietnamese were keen to keep their doors open to the West and it would certainly ease the problem of transport to and from Hanoi for visitors.
5.
Mr Lahiguera said that the Americans believed General Giap may have tried to raise the question of the disputed islands in the South China Sea with the Chinese in Peking in June, but the Chinese had not played ball, claiming that this was an internal Chinese matter. (I reckon this is just speculation as I doubt whether the Americans can have any hard intelligence on these talks.)
6.
Mr Lahiguera ended by saying the flow of Vietnamese refugees through Hong Kong to the U S, mainly from the camps in Thailand, was going smoothly. So far as he knew, and he was supervising the disbursement of funds to them, there had only been one hitch. He thanked us for our help.
In Viresving. Please
стру
Маної,
HKGJ, SEAD, FED, Stanor,
B'lsa, Vientiane, Peking & whow
J
mej:
Aktuald
(C DS Drace-Francis) Assistant Political Adviser
31.8.77
1 CONFIDENTIAL
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