TNAG-1795-FCO40-2555-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation--including-Opera-1988 — Page 344

CONFIDENTIAL FM HANOI

TO IMMEDIATE FCO

TELNO 269

OF 19050OZ JULY 1988

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19 JUL 1988

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INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG, SINGAPORE, MANILA, JAKARTA

INFO PRIORITY BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, WASHINGTON, CANBERRA, OTTAWA INFO PRIORITY TOKYO, PEKING, UKMIS GENEVA, KUALA LUMPUR, BANGKOK

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FCO TELNO 1859 OF 12 JULY.

SEAD will tal

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VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG:

STRATERGY FOR TALKS IN HANOI

1. NOW THAT WE HAVE A LITTLE MORE BREATHING SPACE BEFORE THE TALKS BEGIN (FOLLOWING TELECON WITH DAVID COLVIN I HAVE JUST BID FOR 3-5 AUGUST) YOU MIGHT LIKE MY VIEWS ON STRATEGY.

2. THE VIETNAMESE HAVE CLEARLY HAD QUITE A CONSIDERABLE CHANGE OF HEART OVER THE WHOLE REFUGEE PROBLEM (AS INDEED THEY HAVE OVER A NUMBER OF OTHER ISSUES) AND THERE IS PLENTY OF ROOM FOR MISUNDERSTANDING THEIR MOTIVES AND OBJECTIVES. IN PARA 3 OF YOUR TUR YOU SEEM FAIRLY DISMISSIVE OF THE IDEA THAT THE VIETNAMESE ARE NOW KEEN TO RESOLVE THE REFUGEE PROBLEM AS A WAY OF IMPROVING RELATIONS WITH OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE REGION AND OF ENDING THEIR GLOBAL ISOLATION. ON THE CONTRARY, I THINK THAT THIS IS A MAJOR MOTIVE. NOT ONLY IS IT THE REASON THAT HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY GIVEN TO ME FOR THE CHANGE OF POLICY (SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, MY TELNO 250 OF 6 JULY), BUT IT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE WHOLE THRUST OF VIETNAM'S CONTEMPORARY FOREIGN POLICY. AS FAR AS POLICY TOWARDS THE UK AND HONG KONG IS CONCERNED, I THINK THAT IT IS QUITE CLEAR THAT OVER THE LAST YEAR OR SO THE VIETNAMESE HAVE MADE SOME SIGNIFICANT ATTEMPTS TO IMPROVE RELATIONS. I AM THINKING NOT ONLY OF THIS INVITATION TO TALK ABOUT HONG KONG'S PROBLEM, BUT ALSO THE RETURN OF THE LATEST BATCH OF HONG KONG FISHERMEN WITH AT LEAST SOME OF THEIR EQUIPMENT AND THE RATHER UNEXPECTEDLY ATTRACTIVE OFFER WE HAVE HAD FOR OUR PROPERTY IN HO CHI MINH CITY. INDEED, WHEN DISCUSSING THE LATTER WITH THE MFA I WAS SPECIFICALLY TOLD THAT VIETNAM WISHES TO 'CLEAR THE DECKS AND GET RID OF EVERY BILATERAL PROBLEM BETWEEN US. WHEN ALL OF THIS IS COMBINED WITH THE PROGRESS THAT, SAY, THE AMERICANS HAVE HAD OVER MIA'N THE DIRECTION IN WHICH THINGS ARE GOING, ALBEIT SLOWLY, OVER CAMBODIA, THEN I SEE NO

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