CONFIDENTIAL
19/7
Mr Menis
ра
Mistyne
From:
DH Colvin
197
South East Asia Department
12 July 1991
Date:
Cc:
PS
PS/Mrs Chalker
Sir John Coles o/r Heads of News Dept
Protocol Dept
HKD
FED
SPD
HKD 026/1
RECEIVED IN DECVETOY
29 JUL 199!
DESK OFFICE:
INDEX
Mr Burns
PS/Lord Caithness
PA
A
B
LORD CAITHNESS' TRAVEL PLANS
1.
Lord Caithness sought SEAD's advice about his wish to visit Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos in September. have consulted Hanoi and Bangkok.
Thailand
We
2. HMA Bangkok would welcome a visit in September. It would demonstrate the Government's continuing interest in a country which is fast becoming the hub of Indo-China; and help dispel any lingering doubts about our attitude to Thailand following February's coup. This is sensible advice which I endorse. The current Government under Prime Minister Anand is proving capable and effective and appears to be succeeding in keeping its distance from the National Peace Keeping Council. It is notably Anglophile and it would be a pity not to capitalise on this before the elections.
3.
Mr Melhuish suggests various elements for a programme, based on a couple of days in Bangkok, including calls and a speech, and one or two days outside the capital, perhaps visiting the border camps.
Vietnam
4. There is no difficulty in principle in visiting Vietnam. The bilateral relationship has developed well as we and Hanoi have cooperated on the return of boat people. But we are approaching a sensitive point in our efforts to return boat people in larger numbers from Hong Kong: we are
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