TOP COPY
CONFIDENTIAL DIST?
433
015561
MDLOAN 4598
CONFIDENTIAL
FM FCO
TO PRIORITY HONG KONG
TELNO 1759
OF 01123OZ JULY 88
AND TO PRIORITY
PEKING
INFO PRIORITY WASHINGTON, HANOI
HKD 243/8
RECIT
- A JUL 1988
see(462)
YOUR TELNO 2503 VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE: COAST HOPPING TO SOUTH
CHINA
1.
WE AGREE THAT IT IS IMPORTANT THAT PEKING SHOULD FOLLOW
UP LORD GLENARTHUR'S EXCHANGE WITH QIAN QICHEN ON THIS SUBJECT.
AND WE UNDERSTAND THE NEED TO ENSURE THAT QIAN WORDS HAVE BEEN TRANSLATED INTO ACTION. BUT WE ARE NOT SURE WHETHER THE APPROACH YOU PROPOSE, SO SOON AFTER THE LORD GLENARTHUR QIAN MEETING, WOULD BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE.
2.
SUBJECT TO PEKING'S VIEWS, WE SUGGEST THAT THE EMBASSY
SHOULD AT THIS STAGE SIMPLY PUT THE MFA ON NOTICE THAT THEY WILL
WISH TO CALL ON THEM IN THE NEXT 7-10 DAYS TO DISCUSS QUOTE COAST
HOPPING UNQUOTE AND THAT IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF THE CHINESE SIDE
COULD BY THEN PROVIDE AN ACCOUNT OF HOW THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES ARE
IMPLEMENTING THE INSTRUCTIONS WHICH WE ASSUME WILL ALREADY HAVE ISSUED FROM PEKING FOLLOWING THE LORD GLENARTHUR/QIAN
MEETING.
3.
THE DELAY WILL ENABLE YOU TO SUPPLEMENT THE SO FAR
SKETCHY AND INCONCLUSIVE PICTURE OF THE ATTITUDES OF THE LOCAL
COASTAL AUTHORITIES WHICH YOU HAVE OBTAINED FROM THE MOST RECENT
ARRIVALS THIS FURTHER INFORMATION COULD STRENGTHEN THE EMBASSY'S HAND, SHOULD IT PROVE TO BE NECESSARY TO MAKE
REPRESENTATIONS TO THE MFA.
·
4.
IN THE MEANTIME WE AGREE THAT YOU COULD BRIEF THE NCNA ON THE LATEST EXCHANGES, PARTICULARLY QIAN QICHEN'S COMMENTS ON THE SUBJECT TO LORD GLENARTHUR. YOU COULD ASK NCNA TO IMPRESS UPON THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT THE NEED FOR THE MESSAGE TO GET THROUGH
CLEARLY TO THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES.
HOWE
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