§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the latest Vietnamese action in Kampuchea in the light of the fact that Her Majesty's Government officially recognise the coalition Government of Prince Sihanouk; if he will raise the matter at the United Nations at the earliest opportunity; if he will propose the raising of a United Nations force to defend the integrity and independence of Kampuchea against Vietnamese invaders; and if he will hold urgent discussions with ASEAN and his European Economic Community counterparts.
§ Mr. RifkindI remain most concerned at the recent attacks by Vietnamese forces on the Thai-Cambodian border which have caused hundreds of civilian casualties, displaced thousands of refugees and involved a number of incursions into Thai territory. The meeting in Bangkok last month of Community and ASEAN Foreign Ministers deplored these attacks. I believe it is right to leave the initiative for any further steps at the United Nations or elsewhere to the states most directly concerned.
An increasing majority of United Nations members already endorses the principles of a political settlement set out by the international conference on Kampuchea—Cambodia—held under United Nations auspices in 1981, including as a first step the withdrawal of all foreign forces. We regard the coalition of resistance forces led by Prince Sihanouk as a significant step towards such a political settlement.