The final communiqué of a London conference on preventing arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip is “here”:http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/newsroom/latest-news/?view=News&id=14977034.

The partner countries have agreed to do a number of good and worthy things, but stopping ships at sea “isn’t necessarily one of them”:http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j9iZOqzEELy9eTKhYiL4ajCls9rwD96TT9D00:

A senior British diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government policy said the nine countries agreed that “non-coercive” methods would be used to clamp down on the arms flow.

That means, he said, that any vessel whose captain refuses to allow the ship to be boarded for an inspection will not be forced to submit to the procedure.

Alas, as anticipated, it’s “PSI Part Deux”:http://www.totalwonkerr.net/1837/psi-part-deux-red-sea-regatta. If it doesn’t involve the “Russians”:http://www.totalwonkerr.net/1839/exercising-vigilance or the Chinese — all of the permanent members of the Security Council, in fact — then it’s just a sort of embroidery on existing authorities and arrangements.

Oh, and if North Korea launches a rocket, “South Korea may consider finally joining PSI”:http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20090316_1900.php. Good to know.

You know that saying, “It’s the thought that counts”? It isn’t.