Refugee crisis talks

Press, 3 July 1979, Page 8

Refugee crisis talks

NZPA-Reuter Bali, Indonesia Foreign Ministers from 10 countries have begun a conference on how to stop the outflow of Indo-China refugees and lessen tension in Kampuchea. The Ministers from the five-member Association of South-East Asian Nations are meeting for two days with those from the United States, Japan, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand — first jointly in an informal meeting and then in separate sessions. Ireland is representing the European Economic Community.

Officials in Bali said the response from the five nonA.S.E.A.N. Ministers, particularly the United States Secretary of State (Mr Cyrus Vance) and the Japanese Foreign Minister (Mr Sunao Sonoda) would be crucial for the peace and stability of the non-communist countries in the region. The A.S.E.A.N. Ministers, from Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, met among themselves for three days last week and worked out joint plans on how to deal with the complex Indo-China problem.

Conference sources said that the A.S.E.A.N. Ministers would impress on their five colleagues their view that the role in the refugee exodus of Vietnam, supported by its powerful Soviet ally, and the Kampuchean turmoil had global dimensions.

The Singaporean Foreign Minister (Mr Sinnathamby Rajaratnam), the most out-

spoken among the A.S.E.A.N. | Ministers, told a press conference that the presence of I the five non-A.S.E.A.N. Ministers at the talks and adverse! world public opinion had de-: terred Vietnam from moving its troops from the Kampuchean border into Thailand. There are 180,000 Vietnamese troops along the ThaiKampuchean border, according to Mr Rajaratnam. He said that the refugee exodus was also part of a Sovietsupported Vietnamese “war plan” against the noncommunist nations in SouthEast Asia, whose safety depended on the support they received from the United States and other friendly nations.

Mr Vance, who was the last to arrive on the Indonesian tourist island, did not make any statement. He flew in after attending the summit conference of seven industrialised nations in Tokyo. The Tokyo summit meeting, in a special statement, said events in Indo-China posed a humanitarian problem of historic dimensions, constituting a threat to the peace and stability of SouthEast Asia. The statement called on Vietnam and other countries concerned to take urgent and effective measures, and declared the intention of those taking part in the summit meeting to contribute fully to international efforts to deal with the problem. The Irish Foreign Minister (Mr Michael O’Kennedy) who is in Bali in his capacity as president of the E.E.C. Council of Ministers, told reporters that his nine-member or- 1

ganisation would review' its financial assistance to Vietnam if it failed to make a positive response to appeals |to stop the flow of refugees. Vietnam received about S4M worth of cereal, butter and milk from the European Community every year, and Mr O’Kennedy said this could be channelled to help Vietnamese refugees scattered throughout the region. He also called on the A.S.E.A.N. nations not to turn refugees back to sea until after an international conference was held in Geneva this ■month to look into the whole I matter, including the (“source” of the problem. I He said that approaches by the European Community (members to Hanoi had so far (produced no postive results. Mr Sonoda also told re- : porters that his approaches to Vietnam to stop the refugee exodus had produced no firm response. Australian sources said that their Foreign Minister (Mr Andrew Peacock) would tell the A.S.E.A.N. Ministers that his country would be prepared to approach the Soviet Union to bring pressure on i Hanoi. Mr Peacock will meet the A.S.E.A.N. Ministers in a forImal closed-door session today, followed by the New • Zealand Minister for Foreign (Affairs (Mr Brian Taiboys). Japan has joined the (A.S.E.A.N. nations in demanding that the flight of Indo- | Chinese refugees be stopped at the source —- Vietnam.

The Foreign Minister (Mr Snao Sonoda) told reporters he had asked Vietnam to take such an action.