TNAG-1911-FCO40-2715-Financial-assistance-from-the-UK-Government-to-Vietnamese-re-1989 — Page 55

CONFIDENTIAL

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Top Secret

Secret

Confidential

Restricted

Unclassified

PRIVACY MARKING

DSR 11C (Revised 5/87)

case assumption that all those screened out will have to

be returned compulsorily by means of a bilateral

programme and that payments of at least $620 per person

will be needed. On that basis, there could be a

requirement, spread over a number of years, for up to

£14 million, although our objective would be to move away

from per capita payments towards more general assistance

to the communities concerned. We would envisage

instituting a review of the arrangements during 1990 as

required by your predecessor in his letter of 29 June.

In Confidence

(d) Mandatory repatriation: financial assistance to

Vietnam

8. In order to ensure the continued cooperation of

Vietnam over non voluntary repatriation, it will in my

judgement be necessary to provide additional financial

assistance to Vietnam in the form of aid to the

communities to which the boat people would return. The

amount involved would be the subject of negotiation

between ourselves and the Vietnamese. Our aim would

But I

obviously be to keep this as small as possible.

believe that a sum of at least £5 million will be needed

if it is to make any political impact on the Vietnamese

Government.

Such a payment would be spread over a number

of years and would of course be subject to there being a

steady and substantial flow of non-volunteers to Vietnam,

and to there being evidence that the Vietnamese were

deterring any further exodus of boat people, as set out

in the Comprehensive Plan of Action. The content of any

CONFIDENTIAL