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JOURNALIST: Mr Rudd we've just heard that it seems as though Syrian forces have entered the town of Jisr. We've heard that thousands of people are escaping government violence and fleeing into Turkey. What's your reaction to that?

RUDD: Well, what we've seen from the regime in recent times in Syria is not letting up, in fact there's been an intensification of their crackdown on innocent civilians, and my view is enough is enough.

The UN Security Council is currently locked in negotiations over a first resolution on Syria, one which condemns the actions of the regime and proposes certain measures.

Further than that, I believe the time has come for the Security Council to debate a formal reference of Bashar al-Assad and other members of the regime to the International Criminal Court.

JOURNALIST: But not take action like in Libya?

RUDD: If you look at the way in which Libya unfolded, we began with firstly a resolution condemning the actions of the regime, indicating that they should basically reform or get out.

Second step was a reference to the International Criminal Court and then let us see what happens.

Obviously one of the realities we're dealing with is that on the question of Syria there are divisions across the Arab world. But I think it's important to the international community that we speak with clarity about not just the unacceptability of what the Assad regime is now doing but further to call for a specific new course of action and that's a reference to the International Criminal Court.

JOURNALIST: Lets move on to the IMF debate. The debate that's obviously topical as a result of there being a new head in the wings. Do you believe that Christine Legarde is a) the right person for the job and b) that as a European that she should be taking the job — that the post should be in European hands?

RUDD: Let me take those in reverse. There should be no assumption whatsoever that the head of the IMF comes from Europe.

We come from Asia. Asia will represent collectively about 40 per cent of global GDP in the decade ahead. So let's be very clear about that. There should be no assumption of European monopoly on this position.

Secondly, our view as Australia, reflected by our Treasurer, who is our responsible Minister on this, is that the key thing here is merit because this is a highly significant appointment in the overall framework of global economic governance now. New powers have been given to the IMF, for example by the G20, of which Australia is a member.

On Christine herself, she is a first class person who I've had the pleasure of knowing for a long time. So what I've just said means no reflection on her at all. In fact she's a person who's highly credentialed. However, as I said there should be no assumption that this position has some sort of automatic European call on it.

JOURNALIST: Is Australia supporting Christine Legarde or Mr Carstens?

RUDD: The Australian Government will make its decision in due season. As I've said it has been reflective of our evolving economic realities that our first criterion is merit and on that count Christine Legarde is an outstanding person obviously.

JOURNALIST: Let's look at Australia now and the position that you have in your region. You occupy a unique position. Along with New Zealand, Australia is a western democracy in an area that is populated with others which are very different culturally, with very different politics and very different languages for instance.

How do you define Australia's path forward given the ascendance of China which is perhaps the dominant factor in your region if not the world.

RUDD: Let's put it in these terms: the future of Asia of which we are part is not just of relevance to us, it is of relevance to you here in Britain, it is of relevance to Europe and to the United States. I said before that 40 % of global economic GDP comes out of Asia therefore the future of the underpinning stability is not just of relevance to us. If China were to fall over tomorrow as an economy this would have reverberations world wide given the huge role that they play.That is the first thing.

Climate change speaks for itself. China and India have a huge impact on global greenhouse emissions and obviously security dynamics in East Asia are often fraught because of long standing territorial disputes and no really effective regional mechanisms to deal with many of them.

So for Australia what can we see as our future, the core question for us in the first half of this century, is to make sure that we get the China relationship, and the China engagement with the region, and the China engagement with the world, as right as possible.

Therefore what we are doing in partnership with our friends in Southeast Asia is evolving a new institution called the East Asia Summit to build a regional framework of the rules of the road in political terms and security terms, in climate change and the rest, so that we have an institution that is capable of acting with the tensions that exist beneath the surface.

JOURNALIST: How are you going to square that with being part of a trusted alliance with the United States? The United States is obviously going to be watching this new world emerge with a certain amount of concern.

RUDD: Well one of the objects of Australian diplomacy of the last few years including the period when I was Prime Minister was to invite our American friends into the region. For the first time this year what we'll have is President Obama attending his first ever East Asia Summit.

Now we have the Northeast Asia three: China, Japan and Korea, the southeast Asian ten including, Australia, New Zealand and India and, for the first time this year, the United States and Russia attending. Therefore America's voice will be around that table as we craft the rules of the road for the region.

We should also remember that America has strong security relationships with not just ourselves but with Japan, Korea and other countries as well, for example, the Philippines and Thailand.

JOURNALIST: How concerned are you that not only is China growing economically but also in terms of its military capacity. It is building an aircraft carrier for instance.

RUDD: It follows that with China's economic growth that its foreign policy and its security footprint is also extended. Our challenge within our neighbourhood — wider East Asia — is to build institutions which, as I said before, craft the rules of the road avoiding incidents at sea, creating transparency of military budgets, and transparency of military exercises.

Common confidence in security measures, for example, in the proliferation of natural disasters which occur in our part of the world. The road ahead is to build confidence with each other and an emerging, I hope, concept of common security in east Asia. This is a hard road to hoe.

JOURNALIST: There is criticism of you at the moment for taking your eye off relations with Indonesia at this time. In fact you've been called a globe trotter and all sorts of unflattering things as well.

RUDD: Par for the course in Australian politics.

JOURNALIST: But the point being is that relations with Indonesia are particularly tense right now. Yet Indonesia is one of your biggest partners, certainly in terms of exports. What are you doing to ameliorate the situation there. You've been accused of reacting in a disproportionate way in having a blanket ban on live exports of cattle.

RUDD: The first thing I'd say is that the Indonesian relationship is first and foremost in our foreign relations — I've lost count of the number of times I've been to Jakarta and Bali over the last several years — many, many times.

In terms of the most recent issue which we are dealing with bilaterally, which you've just referred to when I was at a recent meeting of Asian and European Foreign Ministers in Budapest, I was able to spend a long time with my Indonesia counterpart , Dr Marty Natalegawa in figuring our way through these issues.

Secondly, recently in Abu Dhabi at the meeting of the Libyan Contact Group, we had an opportunity there with the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates to talk about the future of live exports to that part of the world as well. We can walk and chew gum at the same time.

JOURNALIST: But Indonesia doesn't seem to have accepted any of the rationale that you've offered it because relations are still bad. They are still threatening to raise this issue with the WTO.

RUDD: All the mechanisms are available through the World Trade Organisation for our friends in Jakarta to exercise those avenues.

We are completely relaxed about that and the foreign policy collaboration between us is good and strong and the Foreign Minister and I agree that we will manage this as we've managed many issues in the past.

The strength of our bilateral relationship lies in the fact that we're committed to peace and stability in our region, we are close collaborators on questions of climate change, we are close collaborators on dealing with counter terrorism and there are always bumps in the road. That is the nature of diplomacy.

JOURNALIST: The other area of foreign policy that is coming under quite a bit of criticism at home is of course immigration.

The boat people — you have decided that you are not going to take any more new arrivals and that they are going to go to centres in other countries. This hasn't happened and it's been said that your immigration policy is in a state of disarray.

RUDD: Well the first thing that I would say to that is that for the first time round the world we had what is called the Bali Process which brings together foreign ministers and immigration ministers from right across Asia and the Pacific.

We agreed for the first time on a regional framework for processing and dealing with asylum seekers. I am told by the UNHCR that there are thirteen regional such negotiations underway around the world.

We have landed the first one in our part of the world. It is called a Regional Framework Agreement. Within that, we include the possibility of bilateral arrangements and the possibility of regional processing centres. That's what we're engaged in negotiations with the Malaysians and others at the moment.

But the baseline is clear: we will fully honour our obligations under the Refugee Convention, and have the full and active participation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

We accept our obligations under international law, we have been respecting that over a long, long period of time and will work this through with the UNHCR . And it is not just an Australian problem. It is a problem worldwide, including here in Her Majesty's realm.

JOURNALIST: I can't let you go without asking you about your ousting as Prime Minister in what was seen as a fairly treacherous act by Julia Gillard. What are relations like now with the Prime Minister?

RUDD: We have a strong working relationship, as you would expect.

The key thing about national politics, whether it is here or elsewhere, is whether your focus is on the huge policy agenda which is before us — we have just been through some of that — or whether you are simply going to get caught up in the darker world of Shakespearean politics. I'm not in that latter category, I'm in the former category, and that's what I intend to do.

JOURNALIST: It has been pointed out that you travel an awful lot. You are away four days out of every ten.

RUDD: You know something, when you get the designation 'Foreign Minister', usually it means that you are dealing with a group called 'foreigners' and in Australia, through a long period of empirical study, we've worked out that most foreigners live overseas — so that is why we tend to go overseas.

Also, the truth is, ask the Brits: when was the last time you had a whole bunch of British Ministers in Australia? They always say it's too far. Europeans say the same. Americans often say the same. So what we do, is we end up travelling to engage with countries around the world because we're a middle power with global interests. That means we have to be active within our own region, which is core but also elsewhere in the world.

One of the reasons I'm here in London is because we're dealing with a huge challenge, as far as those children who die from avoidable diseases around the world.

I'm here to back the British Government who is hosting an important international conference on the Global Alliance for Vaccinations and Immunisations. 250 million immunisations around the world over the last decade through this Alliance; 5 million kids' lives saved; 80 per cent immunisation rates and rising.

So we are putting our shoulder to the wheel with that as well as the Brits to make a real difference across the world, not just in our immediate neighbourhood but across the world because that, as far as making a difference is concerned, means whether you are just strutting your hour upon the stage and are heard no more, or whether you intend to make a difference.

We are determined to make a difference.

JOURNALIST: Kevin Rudd, thank you.

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