TNAG-1182-FCO40-1484-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-into-the--1982 — Page 58

CODE 18 77

Mr Segar

SEAD

W 87

Cc:

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Mr Herdman, WIAD

Mr Cambridge, MVD

Mr Siddle, Legal Advisers

Reference

Hken 243/1

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472

7/13/8 AF14/8

See (175

SHIP RESCUES: MV HUPEH, MY POYANG

1.

I am grateful for the opportunity to comment on your draft letter, and indeed for your willingness to take this problem up with the Home Office.

2.

I am not myself familiar with the status of Bermuda in the merchant shipping context, but as far as Hong Kong is concerned, I would have thought that there was scope for taking a more robust line on the question of ship rescue cases than you propose. There is, after all, no separate Hong Kong registry of ships; Hong Kong is a port of registry like any other UK port. The MV Hupeh and the MV Poyang,! although Hong Kong-owned, are both UK-registered. There is an international understanding (I am not sure of its exact status) that flag countries should accept refugees picked up by ships on their registers if they cannot be resettled elsewhere within a reasonable period. Hong Kong has demanded unconditional guarantees from other countries that any refugees rescued by their ships and not found resettlement places should be removed within 3 months. HMG accepted this in the case of the 'City of Edinburgh' (FCO telegram 481 of 25 June), and it could be argued that we should now accept the remaining 42 refugees from the MV Hupeh and the MV Poyang. I do not know whether this line has been investigated previously my papers do not show so.

3.

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Another consideration is the change in the refugee situation in recent months. Whereas a year ago there were grounds for optimism that it might be possible eventually to resettle almost all refugees remaining in Hong Kong, resettlement opportunities are now decreasing and the number of refugees in Hong Kong is once again rising. Hong Kong has introduced a closed camp policy to deter refugees from heading there. There has already been a good deal of Parliamentary interest, both in the increase in numbers and the closed camp policy itself, and pressure may build up for the UK to assist more directly in relieving the problem.

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