TNAG-0896-FCO40-1106-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 158

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Committee called on all States to allow temporary asylum to refugees coming to their shores after rescue by a skip. Although there is no law which obliges a State to admit for resettlement people rescued by its vessels, several States have expressed their willingness to do so.

What is the attitude of the USSR and its allies?

So fa. they have offered virtually no help and appear unwilling to intervene with the Vietnamese. They refer to the "so-called" refugee problem and see it as a plot to discredit Vietnam, The Soviet party newspaper Pravda (15 July) described the "artificially instigated campaign" about the refugee problem as a "political and ideological diversion thought up and implemented by the forces of imperialism jointly with China". Soviet commentaries suggest that those fleeing Vietnam "cannot adapt to the new life" there and that the ethnic Chinese refugees are direct or potential agents of Peking.

What is the response of the ASEAN States (Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore)?

The ASEAN Foreign Ministers' communiqué issued in Bali on 30 June 1979 held Vietnam responsible for the exodus of refugees and deplored the fact that Vietnam had taken no effective measures to stop the flow with its destabilising effect on ASEAN countries:

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The Foreign Ministers agreed that as the country responsible for the exodus, Vietnam has a decisive role to play in the resolution of the problem. They appealed to the international community to prevail upon Vietnam to stop the exodus. Any illegal immigrants/displaced persons (refugees) leaving Vietnam or the other Indo- chinese States continue to be the responsibility of their respective countries of origin which must accept them back under existing international law and practice. responsibility also applies to those who are now in camps in ASEAN countries.

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The Ministers emphasised the right of ASEAN countries to return such persons to Vietnam and to their respective countries of origin. These countries should set aside for administration by UNHCR suitable transit centres to house these people. The Foreign Ministers stressed that the implementation of any arrangement for the orderly departure of illegal immigrants/displaced persons (refugees) should in no way, affect the existing resettle- ment programmes and commitments for illegal immigrants/ displaced persons (refugees) already in ASEAN countries.