TNAG-0884-FCO40-1094-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 47

Mr Within

of Ht. Col Preedy is already exchanging information with

penultimate paragraph

Dee

his letter) 'I think there

Hong Kong

(

1

elve

CONFIDENTIAL

сам

give

him

even

little should

we

want to

N

243/1

drhing & aym zwiliamson 4/5.

RA Longmire Esq 4

SEAD

FCO

Advised Mr.

accordingly

HKK 243!

בי

ELJAVED M 47637

·9 MAY 1979

British High Commission

INDEX

BRUNET

179.5

M 24-April 1979

FA 243

RECEIVED HI

BESK

INDEX

1) 8623 7) вый

JAL..

fལ་ནས་བཏ༑རིའརྡོ)

done /

M. mis (Ita))

Y NO. LA

1 MALATY

PA

PASLAY

Aeuồn Taken

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES

1.

The Senior Staff Officer of the Royal Brunei Malay Regiment (RBMR) Lt Col Preedy has asked if it would be possible for RBMR to obtain through diplomatic channels regular reports of the known movements of Vietnamese refugee boats in this region, to supplement the information they already exchange with Hong Kong.

2. The reason for this enquiry is given in his letter, a copy of which I attach, together with a copy of the relevant Defence Executive Committee (DEC) minute to which he refers. For a number of years the Sultan has refused to allow the Royal Brunei Police to maintain any direct contact with the police forces of Malaysia and other neighbouring countries. Although permission is occasionally given for individual officers - police and civil to meet their opposite numbers (for example, Peter Coster was allowed to meet the Malaysian Inspector- General of Police in Kuala Lumpur in April 1978) there is no sign that Sir Omar is prepared to let his security forces off this particular leash by agreeing to the regular formal liaison recommended by DEC.

3. I am sure that there would be practical difficulties and there might be political ones also. On the one hand, it is in our interests that the British loan service personnel in the RBMR (of whom Lt Col Preedy is one) should be able to do the jobs entrusted to them as efficiently as possible. On the other hand, we have hitherto regarded the question of Vietnamese

- 1 -

CONFIDENTIAL

/refugees