§ 114. Mr. Rees-Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what action he is taking to obtain the release from detention of Chinese vessels flying the British flag and their crews by the Netherlands Government in the East Indies; and whether he will request the Netherlands Government to remove their embargo on inter-island trade in view of the adverse effect of such embargo on the food situation in British Malaya and on employment in Singapore.
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Mr. McNeilThough none of the trading vessels detained by the Netherlands authorities was properly qualified for full British registration, this matter was taken up last September by the Special Commissioner in South East Asia during a visit to Batavia. Arrangements have since been made by the Netherlands East Indies Government for the release of the ships detained and for the introduction of new regulations to facilitate legitimate trade. In the meantime the former restrictive regulations have been suspended.