TNAG-0888-FCO40-1098-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 172

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RECORD OF CALL BY THE SOVIET AMBASSADOR, MR LUNKOV, ON THE LORD PRIVY SEAL, 5.30 PM, 29 MAY 1979

Present

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(865

Sir Ian Gilmour

Mr Murray

Mr Richardson

Mr Broucher

HKK 243 Lunkov

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The Lord Privy Seal said he had hoped that Mr Lunkov's first call would be a courtesy visit but the British Government was desperately concerned by the situation in South East Asia, especially Hong Kong. The numbers of refugees arriving from Vietnam were vast and this was imposing a great strain and causing deep concern in the area. Old established conventions, such as that concerning rescue at sea, were under threat. understood that the Vietnamese Government intended getting rid of around a million ethnic Chinese. As the Soviet Union had very good relations with Vietnam, he would be grateful if they would use their influence in Hanoi to change the situation. He was not saying that nobody should be allowed to leave Vietnam, but the uncontrolled exodus was both sordid and dangerous.

2. Mr Lunkov said that he did not know how many people wanted to leave Vietnam. The Vietnamese Embassy could give the required information. Sir Ian Gilmour said this was not a question of information but of action. We had already spoken to the Vietnamese. The situation was very serious and concerned not just a few people but many thousands, a lot of whom were dying at sea. He was sure the Soviet Government would not want the serious effects of this situation to spread throughout the Pacific.

3. Mr Lunkov asked what the Vietnamese Government could do. The Lord Privy Seal said that it was natural that some people should want to leave, but if thousands wanted to go or were driven out, something must be wrong. This reflected badly on the country and its social system. Gold was being demanded from people before they left. But the problem was the sheer uncontrolled number of refugees. We were not the only people concerned.

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Mr Lunkov asked if the British Government had not been listening to misinformation from the Chinese. It looked as if the latter had been exaggerating again. Mr Murray said there was no exaggeration in the position of the British Government. Mr Lunkov should see for himself the situation in Hong Kong, where more than a thousand boat people were arriving daily who had nowhere to go. The Lord Privy Seal said that Hong Kong was already desperately overcrowded. We were not concerned with what the Chinese were saying but with the actual situation in South East Asia.

CONFIDENTIAL

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