His ship would not go near merely give help to those
7. Mr Bradman said that other ships were already discreetly picking up people in the area. the Vietnamese coast but would refugees in distress.
8.
Sir Leslie hoped that the Conference would attract offers of humanitarian help from most Governments. He said that this would be as useful as sending out rescue ships.
9. Mr Blaker said that some Governments were
were taking a tough Line. The purpose of the Conference was twofold. Firstly, to help the refugees by providing more money and places; secondly, to bring pressure on Vietnam to discontinue their existing policies.
10.
Sir Leslie said that the Conference should emphasise the humanitarian aspects. Despite a previous agreement, the Vietnamese were still expelling their people. Mr Blaker said in reply to a question from Mr Shawcross that we wanted the Vietnamese to change their policy.
11.
i
Mr Blaker
Mr Shawcross asked what the Russians were doing. replied that they had influence, but we did not know if they would attend the Conference.
12. Mr Bradman said that as an alternative to a hospital ship, we could send out a British cargo ship whose real function would be to rescue the refugees.
13.
The Governor of Hong Long said that the Vietnamese seemed to be showing some signs of sensitivity to international criticism. The number of boat people arriving in Hong Kong had slowed down recently.
14. The Meeting ended at 5.45 pm.
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