Miliband on Burma, Britain and the world
The UK is ready to support "any and all" United Nations action to help the people of Burma. So said foreign secretary David Miliband in the House of Commons.
But what does that mean in practice? Well, it seems it includes - at least in theory - the possibility of using military force to get help to the many thousands of people who desperately need it after the devastating cyclone 10 days ago.
I spoke to him at length yesterday for a special edition of The World Tonight in which we undertook a detailed examination of British foreign policy: what it is, and what it should be.
I asked him about the newly-adopted United Nations doctrine known as the "responsibility to protect" - or R2P in the jargon - which lays down that the international community has a responsibility to act to protect people who are at risk of genocide or ethnic cleansing. But might it also apply in cases of natural disaster?
"It certainly could," said Mr Miliband, "and we have been absolutely clear in New York over the last 12 days that all instruments of the UN should be available."
So I asked about sending in military escorts for aid convoys, even without the consent of the Burmese authorities. You could try it, he said, but don't forget that the Burmese army is something like 400,000 strong. "No one should think that there is an easy or quick answer to this ... but all options are being looked at."
The Miliband vision of what Britain's foreign policy should be based on is made up of four distinct elements, which he labels (i) counter-terrorism; (ii) preventing and resolving conflicts; (iii) encouraging a transition to a high growth, low carbon economy; and (iv) reforming international institutions.
We discussed them all - and you can hear the programme by clicking here.
I'd be interested to know what you think.
UPDATE: There's an interesting contribution to the Burma intervention debate by Martin Jacques on The Guardian's Comment is Free blog .
UPDATE: There are FCO transcripts of my conversation with the Foreign Secretary and .
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