Overseas talks on Kampuchea

Press, 27 February 1984, Page 9

Overseas talks on Kampuchea

NZPA-Reuter Singapore The Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (A.S.E.A.N.), must be allowed to find a political solution to the Kampuchean problem without outside interference, said the New Zealand Minister of Defence, Mr Thomson, yesterday. Mr Thomson, who is in Singapore on a three-day visit, was asked in an interview whether New Zealand had plans to play a prominent role, like Australia, in seeking a negotiated settlement. Mr Thomson said that A.S.E.A.N. countries — Thailand, Indonesia, Malay-

sia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Brunei — were intimately concerned with the Kampuchean problem and likely to have intelligence necessary to take appropriate action. “New Zealand prefers to work through the states of A.S.E.A.N. I am not aware of any New Zealand initiative,” he said. Vietnam invaded Kampuchea in 1979 and about 180,000 Vietnamese troops now occupy the country. Mr Thomson said he would discuss the Kampuchean problem with political and military leaders in Malaysia, Thailand, and In-

donesia after his visit to Singapore ends today. He was asked about the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Mochtar Kusumatmaadja’s recent statement expressing concern about the growing strength of the Peking-backed Khmer Rouge in relation to their two non-Communist partners in an A.S.E.A.N.-sup-ported coalition of Kampuchean resistance forces. “That is one of the subjects I will be getting the Thai views on. I will also be discussing it with the Indonesian Government,” Mr Thomson said. He declined to elaborate.