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Sir Anthony Parsons' speech on the ASEAN-sponsored Cambodia.. item at the United Nations had been one of the toughest; we had offered to co-sponsor the resolution and had lobbied actively on its behalf with good results.
11. We had a problem over our aid budget but would try to bring forward disbursement of our aid allocations. Additional help needed to be made available for international relief agencies operating in the Thai-Cambodia border area, with special reference to the Thai side. Mr Simons said that while our aid had been committed to the relief agencies in response to recent appeals, we had not specified in which countries we expected the money to be used. But we were pressing in the European Community for more money to be made available for the UNHCR's work in Thailand. Mr Holbrooke said that US aid was
earmarked not for Cambodia but for Cambodians, ie those in Thailand
as well.
We
12. Mr Cortazzi said that enquiries would be made of the British Red Cross, the 'Save the Children Fund' and other British relief agencies as to whether their aid was reaching the frontier area. would be prepared to discuss with ASEAN the suggestion for an ASEAN fact-finding mission and to support any measures that were taken. We could also establish, perhaps by talking to the UN Secretary-General, whether anything could be done in the United Nations context. 13. Our forthcoming Heads of Mission meeting in Bangkok (January 1980) would help to underline our support for Thailand. Mr Blaker would call on Prime Minister Kriangsak. Mr Holbrooke had not mentioned
the UN Security Council as a forum for discussing the whole question; presumably this was a deliberate ommission? Mr Holbrooke said that this
had indeed been the case. It was better to see what could be done in
Thailand itself.
POSSIBLE ASEAN PRESENCE
14.
Mr Cortazzi, recalling that Singapore had been the main advocate of establishing an ASEAN presence to help Thailand and that Indonesia had been the least enthusiastic, asked about the Malaysian attitude. Mr Holbrooke said that the Malaysians were moving from their neutralist position and were making contingency plans to help Thailand. The Filipinos would join in but would take no initiative. The Indonesian attitude was crucial. Mr Murray said that President Soeharto had told Lord Carrington that the ASEAN countries had an understanding
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