RESTRICTED
HKA 177/1
26
004375
MDLIAN 9770
RESTRICTED
FM HANOI
TO PRIORITY FCO
TELNO 597
OF 070745Z SEPT 92
AND TO PRIORITY HONG KONG, PEKING
22
23
TOP COPY Q DIST?
HONG KONG TELNOS 208 TO HANOI AND 2242 TO FCO:
ہیں
CHINESE SEIZURE OF VIETNAMESE VESSELS NEAR HONG KONG
1. THE MFA (DUNG, DIRECTOR OF NORTH WEST EUROPE DEPT) RAISED THIS WITH ME ON 1 SEPTEMBER. HE SAID THAT THE VIETNAMESE WERE
EXTREMELY CONCERNED AT THE SEIZURE BY THE CHINESE OF A NUMBER OF VIETNAMESE VESSELS IN HONG KONG WATERS AND THAT THEY HOPED THAT
THE HONG KONG AUTHORITIES WOULD TAKE APPROPRIATE MEASURES TO
PROTECT COMMERCIAL VESSELS WITHIN THEIR WATERS.
2. DRAWING ON FIRST HONG KONG TUR I EXPLAINED THE CIRCUMSTANCES
TO DUNG WHO DID NOT APPEAR TO BE BRIEFED ON THE DETAIL. HE WAS SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT ONLY TWO VIETNAMESE VESSELS HAD BEEN DETAINED IN HONG KONG TERRITORIAL WATERS AND THAT THE OTHER VESSELS HAD BEEN DETAINED IN THE SURROUNDING CHINESE WATERS. IN RESPONSE TO MY SUGGESTION THAT THE VIETNAMESE SHOULD SEEK CLARIFICATION FROM THE PRC, DUNG SAID THAT THE CHINESE AMBASSADOR HERE HAD ALREADY BEEN CALLED INTO THE MFA AND THAT ACTION HAD ALSO BEEN
TAKEN BY THE VIETNAMESE EMBASSY IN PEKING. THEY NOW AWAITED A REPLY FROM THE CHINESE. DUNG UNDERTOOK TO INFORM US OF THE CONTENT OF EVENTUAL CHINESE REPLY.
3. VIETNAMESE CONCERN OVER WHAT THEY SEE AS A CONSISTENT PATTERN OF HARRASSEMENT OF VIETNAMESE SHIPS BY THE CHINESE WAS UNDERLINED TO ME BY VU KHOAN, FIRST DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER, WHO I SAW INFORMALLY THE SAME EVENING. HE DESCRIBED THE SITUATION AS ''WORRYING'' AND PROFESSED TO BE AT A LOSS FOR AN EXPLANATION AND ASKED ME WHAT I THOUGHT. WHEN I SUGGESTED THAT THE SPRATLEYS ISSUE MIGHT NOT BE TOTALLY UNRELATED, VU KHOAN SAID THAT THE SAME THOUGHT HAD OCCURRED TO THE VIETNAMESE BUT THAT THEY TENDED TO DISCOUNT IT BECAUSE THE RECENT TENOR OF MESSAGES FROM PEKING TO HANOI ON THE SPRATLEYS HAD BEEN MUCH MORE CONCILIATORY DURING THE LAST FEW WEEKS.
WILLIAMS
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