TNAG-0894-FCO40-1104-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 311

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DSR 11C

1911, Geneva 1958 and London 1960) to rescue persons in

distress at sea. Some have merely provided succour on

the high seas and proceeded on their way but this is not

always feasible eg in the event of a refugee vessel

sinking (eg Ashford). Other flag ships may be following

similar practices. If the UK offer of places for refugees

is large enough to accommodate those picked up at

up at sea by

British ships then this problem will be alleviated if

guarantees can be given automatically at once.

B Deployment of a Rescue Vessel

of_a_

The Italians (and it is believed the French) have deployed

a small naval task force in the South China Sea to pick

up refugees in distress to help fill the vacuum left by

re-routed commercial vessels. A charitable organisation

is believed to be seeking to time charter a vessel to

carry out a similar function. It would be appropriate

for the UK to offer to support this operation by offering

a ship of its own as a practical demonstration of its willingness to solve the current crisis and its humanity.

Some 30 50% of those refugees who set out in small

boats are thought to drown. The vessel could also act

as a mobile collecting point for refugees picked up by

British ships and would be welcomed by British Shipowners.

Any refugees rescued in this way could be deducted from

any UK quota offered. The vessel should also be able to re-supply and carry out repairs afloat to refugee boats

when this will enable them to reach land under their own

power.

It would be expensive to charter such a vessel and it

would be wrong to divert funds pledged to UNHCR to meet

the cost. Little or no cost would be incurred however

by deploying a suitable Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) although she might be diverted from some other task.

In principle however RFAs have to be kept operational so that funds are already committed. They also need

to exercise and train crews. Deployment in the South

China Sea would provide real situations and would

contribute to the morale of any crew. Working with the

Italian task force could be seen in the context of NATO

cooperation. A suitable type of RFA Wodd be the

might

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