TNAG-0893-FCO40-1103-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 152

1

CONFIDENTIAL

HKK 243

2431

1287

KIDEX

PS/Mr Blaker

по

267

0177.

PS/Lord Privy Seal

Private Secretary

1250 A

A

INDO-CHINA REFUGEES

1.

Mr Cartledge's letter of 2 July conveyed the Prime

Minister's instructions that we should put arrangements

in hand immediately for consultations with Australia, the

United States, Canada and perhaps France with a view to

arriving at a common approach to the Geneva Conference.

2.

!

I consulted the four London Missions of these countries

immediately and all have agreed to attend a meeting in the

FCO on 11 July. I deliberately pitched the date into the

middle of next week to enable them to get full briefing and

also to create time for the Secretary of State and the Home

Secretary to consult the Prime Minister on our own policy

and to take any consequential action if this is necessary

after they have considered the problem together.

3. After I had taken action in London, we received

**

t

Canberra telegram No 371 which suggests that the Australians

are tending to rush ahead without having thought things out

properly. The idea of having a Ministerial meeting in

London is a bad one. It would immediately expose the exis-

tence of a Ministerial cabal: it could not be concealed.

On the other hand consultations at Ministerial level before

CONFIDENTIAL

/the