§ 11. Mr. Rankinasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will now publish the evidence in his possession of military assistance in forms inconsistent with the provisions of the Geneva Agreement, provided to the governing authorities in North and South Vietnam by the Soviet Government, the Chinese People's Republic, France, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Malaya, respectively.
§ Mr. P. ThomasIt is for the International Control Commission to report whether any foreign military assistance, inconsistent with the Geneva Agreements, has been provided in Vietnam. The reports of this body have been published and made available to the House. The last report was that of June, 1962, which was reproduced in Command Paper 1755 of 1962.
§ Mr. RankinFirst, is the hon. Gentleman telling us that the Geneva Agreements as they apply to South-East Asia have not been broken by at least some of the countries which are named in this Question, despite any reports to which the hon. Gentleman refers? Secondly, does he ask people to believe that war could have been conducted for the time it has been waged in that part of Asia if supplies of arms from outside the Territory mentioned were not coming from one or other of the Powers I have named?
§ Mr. ThomasNo, Sir, I am not telling the House that the Geneva Agreements have not been broken. In fact, the last report, which I referred to in my Answer, says quite specifically that they have been broken in many regards by the North Vietnamese Government.
§ Mr. Harold DaviesIs the hon. Gentleman aware that he has not fully and truthfully answered the Question? [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."] I have read every one of the International Control Commission's 16 Reports and talked to members of the International Control Commission in Vietnam. The Question asks the hon. Gentleman to collate the evidence of the supply of military material by any party. The hon. Gentleman knows full well that materials—
§ Mr. Harold DaviesWill he now publish it and lay it on the Table of the House or in the Library?
§ Mr. ThomasThe reports have been published and are available to the House. I noticed that the question in fact omitted to mention the participation of North Vietnam.
§ 13. Mr. Warbeyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the change of regime in South Vietnam, it is still his intention to prolong the stay of the British Advisory Mission in that area.
§ Mr. P. ThomasYes, Sir.
§ Mr. WarbeyIs the hon. Gentleman not a little ashamed that nearly £150,000 of British taxpayers' money has been devoted to aiding and abetting what is now revealed as the most cruel tyranny of modern times? Is it really the Government's intention to go on aiding and abetting a regime which, according to The Times, is mainly concerned with pursuing with full ferocity the war against the Vietnamese peasants?
§ Mr. ThomasHer Majesty's Government are not concerned with aiding and abetting any particular Government in Vietnam but with the survival of the freedom of the Vietnamese people.
§ Mr. A. RoyleIs my hon. Friend aware that on this side of the House we welcome the retention of the Thompson Mission in South Vietnam, which has done a fine job in that area in the last two years?
§ Mr. P. Noel-BakerDoes the Minister recall that the Governments stated in Geneva in 1954 that the essential purpose of the Agreement relating to Vietnam was to settle military questions with a view to ending hostilities and making a political settlement? Will he ask his right hon. Friend to consider whether we can now do something to 17 try to secure an end to this horrible conflict which has lasted for so many years?
§ Mr. ThomasI suggest, with respect, that that is rather a different question, but I remind the right hon. Gentleman that the Advisory Mission is a civilian mission in South Vietnam.