TNAG-0972-FCO40-1191-Vietnamese-refugees-in-Hong-Kong-1980 — Page 104

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Millance

PA

Joh

SEAD

CO MAED

UND HKGD

Mr willin

G

SECRETARY OF STATE FOR TRADE

Vietnamese Boat People

I suggest we

chy & Bar winn

CH.K.

223/4

Thank you for your letter of 12 March about the difficulties which continue to preoccupy British shipowners when their masters rescue Vietnamese boat refugees. I am conscious of the difficulties which the President of the General Council of Shipping has again drawn to your attention, and of the potential direct and indirect damage which may result for British shipping. I am glad that over the months since we decided to treat these cases on an individual basis, no British ship has suffered serious delay.

You may be interested to see the JIC's recent (20 March) assessment of the likely trend in the flow of boat refugees from Vietnam. I ought to add that, since most of those refugees who head for Hong Kong travel close to the coast of the mainland of China, an increase in departures towards Hong Kong ought not in itself to bring a significant increase in the frequency with which British ships may come across refugees in normal shipping lanes. Nevertheless if a substantial flow did start again, as a result of a deliberate and visible Vietnamese policy, I think we would need to consider two courses very quickly:

(a) how to act as best we could, along with other friendly

countries, to try to persuade the Vietnamese to stop their action; and this would be no easy matter given that our scope for persuasion would be limited; and whether to revise our policy on rescues at sea,

if possible before our shipowners were faced with a series of cases which would cause them signficant loss.

(b)

For the moment, however, I believe that it remains right, on general grounds, to continue to make every reasonable effort to get boat refugees landed at the first port of call after rescue:

/firstly because

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