Miliband backs quest for democracy

The Foreign Secretary said controversy surrounding the current conflicts should not overshadow the "moral impulse" to bring people freedom.

The spread of democracy cannot be taken for granted and needs support "not just in words, but in deeds", Mr Miliband warned.

"I understand the doubts about Iraq and Afghanistan, and the deep concerns at the mistakes made," he said. "But my plea is that we do not let divisions over those conflicts obscure our national interest, never mind our moral impulse, in supporting movements for democracy."

The Foreign Secretary's comments came in a speech to an audience in Oxford, titled the Diplomatic Imperative.

He rejected criticism that the West was indulging in "intellectual imperialism" by trying to bring democracy to other parts of the world. "We must resist the arguments on both the left and the right to retreat into a world of realpolitik... In fact, the goal of spreading democracy should be a great progressive project; the means need to combine soft and hard power. We should not let the genuine debate about the 'how' of foreign policy obscure the clarity about the 'what'."

Fostering democracy in the Middle East was "the best long-term defence against global terrorism and conflict", and all available means should be used in that cause, according to Mr Miliband.

The Cabinet minister highlighted the need to support popular democratic campaigns in states such as Burma, and also called for more reform in China - where he is due to visit in a fortnight.

"China's incorporation into the global economy has brought radical social change - Chinese society is more mobile, vocal and diverse than in the pre-reform period," Mr Miliband said.

"Arguably more people in China are freer today that they have been at any previous time in Chinese history. But people inside China and outside are rightly concerned about the next stages in political development."