J Lewis Esq
SEAD
FCO
RESTRICTED
1. May stat
STEAL
British Embassy
Commercial Department
2. cc Mr Hanson, Seant Branit,
815
ико
+PA
dis 15/9
Electra House 115-117 Esteban St Legaspi Village Makati
Metro Manila Philippines (PO Box 1970 MCC)
Telex PN 3282 (A/B PRODROME PN3282) Telephone No 89-10-51/8
HKCD 24318
SEP YOU
an
į
Your reference
Our reference
Date
8 September 1988
Dear John,
644,
FCO TELNO 2070 TO HONG KONG: VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE: TALKS IN HANOI
As instructed in TUR, we briefed the Department of Foreign Affairs on the talks in Hari (attached).
1.
2.
As usual, they were slow to react. However, I have now learnt from Aragon, Executive Director of the Asian and Pacific Affairs Division, that they are primarily concerned about the following points:
3.
a)
b)
The criteria for determining who is a genuine refugee and who is an illegal immigrant;
Whether the Vietnamese Government will have a "veto" over names on the lists supplied to them (para 9 vi of TUR)
The whole question of boat people is of course an emotional one, and the Filipinos are an emotional race. A story last month, for instance, that a boatload of refugees had been forced to resort to murder and cannibalism en route after a US Navy ship declined to pick them up, was headline news. The Philippine Government have consistently taken a humanitarian line on the issue and are clearly rather uneasy about the prospect of involuntary repatriation. Humanitarian motives apart, one understandable concern is that tougher policies by other countries in the region may well result in an increase in the number of arrivals in the Philippines (our telno 271 refers).
сс
Hong Kong Dept, FCO
RESTRICTED
Yours ever,
Anneli
A E Conroy
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