DзR TIC
This committment was made because some countries in South
East Asia (which were, already becoming overcrowded or which
were hard-liners on refugee admissions) demanded guarantees
from third countries whose ships put into their" ports with
refugee survivors aboard, as an insurance against being
left indefinitely with the refugees. This reflected the
growing concern of South-East Asian states over the fact
that departures for permanent settlement were not keeping
pace with new arrivals, despite the UNHCR's endeavours.
It placed an intolerable burden on captains of vessels
who rescued refugees and there were subsequently many
reports of distress signals having been ignored, though
not to our knowledge by British ships. The Government's
acceptance of ultimate responsibility for refugees rescued
by. UK-registered vessels relieved UK masters of this
burden. Our policy on this has been followed by some other
Western countries.
THE FUTURE
16. It is difficult to estimate the numbers who might'·
leave Vietnam in the future. What effect will the current
hostility in South East Asia have on the attitue of the
Vietnamese Government (whose harsh policies are causing
the refugees to flee)? What will be the response to the
problem of countries of first asylum in South-East Asia
(will they continue to take an increasingly harsh line
against new refugee arrivals)? How many permanent resettle-
ment places might be available for the refugees in the
West and elsewhere? There are over one million ethnic
Chinese still in Vietnam, many of whom would probably
/want
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