§ LORD BROCKWAYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Government of Cambodia have made a request for arms and, if so, what: has been the response.]
§ THE MINISTER OF STATE. FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (LORD SHEPHERD)My Lords, no direct request has been received by Her Majesty's Government; the second part of the Question does not, therefore, arise.
§ LORD BROCKWAYMy Lords, I thank my noble friend for that Answer. Could he just define what he means by "direct request"? And would Her Majesty's Government bear in mind that the situation is aggravated by the fact that both sides, American and Viet Cong, have defied the 1954 Agreements and that we should refrain from sending arms to that country?
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, I do not quite know how I can help my noble friend in regard to my first Answer. It is perfectly well known that the Cambodian Government said that they would receive arms from any country that was willing to supply them. Certainly Her Majesty's Government did not regard that as a direct request. I agree that it would be quite wrong for us, as co-Chairman of the Geneva Convention, of which Cambodia is one of the Protocol countries, to supply arms to Cambodia.