CONFIDENTIAL
Foreign and Commonwealth Office London SW1A 2AH
PH Tipple Esq
DS5
Ministry of Defence
Main Building
Telephone 01- 233 4439
Your reference D/DS5/5/4/1
Our reference HKK 243/1
HKK 243/1
Date
RECEIVED IN REGISELY NO. 51
6 JAN 1983
DESK OFFICER
REGISTRY
Action Taker.
INDEX
PA
No
THE
GB lufl
6 January 1983
2
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES : OPPOSED TOWING OF CRAFT
1. Thank you for your letter of 14 December 1982 and its-243/1(482)
enclosed draft submission. We consider that a submission as you propose would not be appropriate at this stage.
2.
-
306)
It is clear from the Hong Kong Secretary for Security's letter, which I repeated in my letter to Amos of 25 October 1982, that contingency plans for towing are nothing new. What is being considered is no more than bringing them up-to-date. An incident involving Vietnamese refugees is only one aspect; other situations might well arise. I wonder whether there has not been undue haste somewhere along the line therefore in linking the draft order to Vietnamese refugees the draft does not, after all, make any specific reference to refugees. I can assure you that both we and Hong Kong are fully alive to the legal and political issues involved if boats of Vietnamese refugees were ever to be towed out of Hong Kong waters. Hong Kong have been asked to consult us at an early stage if they ever envisaged using the contingency plan for dealing with refugee boats, or indeed any other type of craft. It would be at that stage that we should consider submitting to Ministers.
3.
In the circumstances I believe that it would be wrong to oppose the updating of the contingency plan. This would cause considerable problems in our relations with the Hong Kong Government. Even more difficult would be any suggestion of dissociating ourselves from the Hong Kong Government's proposals.
CONFIDENTIAL
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