§ Mr. Bestasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received about the current situation of the Vietnamese aggression in Cambodia; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RifkindMember Governments of the Association of South East Asian Nations keep us closely informed of their views about the current Vietnamese offensive in Cambodia. A representative of the Khmer People's National Liberation Front called on officials at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 16 January. We have made clear our deep concern to the Vietnamese Government bilaterally and jointly with European Community partners.
§ Mr. Bestasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has 543W received in respect of military or financial support given to Vietnamese forces by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RifkindNone. We deplore Vietnam's occupation of Cambodia and Soviet military and other assistance which permits this. The United Kingdom, with the overwhelming majority of the international community, wishes to see the total withdrawal of foreign forces from Cambodia, internationally supervised elections and the creation of an independent neutral and non-aligned Cambodia.
§ Mr. Bestasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the current refugee problem in Thailand as a result of Vietnamese aggression in Cambodia, giving the current numbers of refugees; what representations have been made about the matter by Her Majesty's Government and to whom; and what he proposes to do about the situation.
§ Mr. RifkindWe strongly deplore the suffering caused to Cambodian civilians, some 240,000 of whom have recently fled to Thailand, and have so informed the Vietnamese authorities. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces announced in another place on 27 February, at column 965, a special grant of £250,000 to the United Nations border relief operation in addition to £250,000 already given this year. We supported a recent European Community pledge of food aid for refugees in Thailand. We are monitoring the situation closely.
§ Mr. Bestasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, in the course of his official visit to Thailand, he will establish contact with any of the forces resisting Vietnamese aggression in Cambodia; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RifkindI refer my hon. Friend to my reply to his question of 5 March at column 436. We have periodic contact with the non-Communist Cambodian resistance groups, and as my hon. Friend the Member for Shoreham (Mr. Luce) told the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Miss Maynard) on 11 February at column 31, we provide modest assistance to them, solely of a humanitarian nature.
§ Mr. Bestasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what talks he proposes to have, and with whom, about sanctions against Vietnam following its aggression in Cambodia; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RifkindWe are in frequent contact with Western partners and members of the Association of South East Asian Nations about policy towards Vietnam in the light of its continuing occupation of Cambodia. We firmly adhere to the policy announced by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 3 July 1979 not to provide aid to Vietnam and, where necessary, encourage others to do likewise.