SECRET
UK EYES A
ALLIANCE AND ORGANIZATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
18. The UN. The UN is likely to remain as the world's major
international forum. Its primary function is to maintain international peace and security, but its provisions for this are based on an assumption of unanimity among the permanent members of the Security Council China, France, the Soviet Union, the UK and the US. There has therefore been a gulf between theory and practice, and any expansion of the UN's military rôle beyond peacekeeping will depend on the developing relationships between those powers, especially on the attitudes of the China and the Soviet Union, particularly the latter's acceptance of negotiated settlements to regional
conflicts.
19. The Commonwealth. The Commonwealth will remain a unique association of disparate states and races and have potential both as a moderating influence in the Third World, and as an
entrée for the UK not enjoyed by any other EC nation, the USA or Japan. There will therefore probably be a continuing opportunities for military activity in support of British
government policies promoting stability.
20. The EC. The EC single market will be in existence.
Though the Single European Act, provides for consideration
only security matters, a cohering European economic and trading bloc is likely to be regarded increasingly as an entity by outside nations and it will become increasingly
difficult for members of it to isolate themselves from their
partners' problems in matters such as access to energy supplies. Thus, EC nations may well find that they have common security interests 00A. France, will probably retain
considerable interests in her ex-colonies and regard her
nuclear testing area in the Pacific and space-launch
facilities in French Guiana as vital national interests. The
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B-11 UK EYES A SECRET