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withdrew back into their boundaries the better. He was concerned
too about incidents on Vietnam's border with China. There was
risk of new incidents being misconstrued and leading to serious confrontation. What needed to be done was for the people of
Cambodia to be given a greater say in their own affairs and for Vietnam to withdraw its troops. Military involvement would not
serve Vietnam well but would lead to severe criticism of her
in the UN and other world forums.
*
4. Dr Owen then turned to the subject of Vietnamese refugees.
He said that there was a racket going on and he would not mince words about it. People were not just leaving Vietnam without officials being aware of it; payment of money was taking place and we had good evidence of this. Mr Hoan should tell his Government that they must cooperate with the UNHCR so that people could be allowed with the UNHCR's cooperation to leave the country. But there should be no question of putting people on boats against payment of money in the hope of their being taken on to Malaysia, Hong Kong and other such countries.
5.
In conclusion Dr Owen stressed that he did not think the
situation was one for complacency.
If matters went wrong through
miscalculations there could be profound consequences of the region. Britain valued good relations with Vietnam, but these relations had been damaged by recent events. Sincere action on Vietnam's part could stop that damage and ensure good relations.
6. Mr Hoan said that he would report Dr Owen's views to his Government. The Cambodian regime had been brutal, although he accepted that this was an internal affair of the Cambodian people. But the regime had 1+kkanad ka buje advise of the Peking authorities and staged a border war. With the help of 20,000. Chinese advisors and hundreds of thousands of Chinese weapons they had massacred Vietnamese civilians. Vietnam had persisted in seeking a negotiated settlement, but without response. It had been left with no alternative but to use its defensive right to fight
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