Foreign and Military Affairs

China backs fight against Somali piracy

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-08-26 09:01

UNITED NATIONS - China on Wednesday voiced its support to the efforts to counter Somali piracy in accordance with the international law and the relevant Security Council resolutions.

The statement came as Li Baodong, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations, was taking the floor at an open Security Council meeting on piracy off the Somali coast. The 15-nation Council began the meeting on Wednesday morning to discuss a report by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on how to prosecute and imprison Somali pirates.

"China supports the activities carried out to combat Somali piracy in accordance with the international law and the resolutions of the Security Council," Li said. "At present, naval operations of the countries concerned to combat piracy and to protect navigation have played a very positive role in safeguarding the safety of international navigation."

"At the same time, the issue of how to prosecute the pirates caught has come to the fore," he said. "China supports strengthening international cooperation in prosecuting the Somali pirates under the framework of the existing international law, and appreciates the work carried out by the countries concerned, particularly coastal states."

"We also call upon international community to provide the necessary support to the coastal states to enhance their legal capacity, and China welcomes their report in this regard and will join others to further study the legal framework," he said.

"Recently, although pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia have continued, threatening the safety of international navigation, their success rate has started to decline, reflecting the initial success of counter-piracy international cooperation," he said.

"However, at the same time, the root causes that give rise to the piracy off the coast of Somalia have not been eradicated, and these pirates remain and their behavior is starting to change with elaborate organization and more covert methods of attack, and they have expanded their scope of operations into the Indian Ocean," he said. "This has shown that the task for combating piracy is still very arduous, and it calls for further comprehensive efforts by the international community so as to eradicate the Somali piracy both from its phenomenon and root cause."

"Using such measures as arrests by armed forces and judicial prosecution of pirates can only ease the problem," he said. "To solve the problem once and for all, an integrated solution should be adopted."

"We believe the international community should make efforts in the following areas: First, the peace process in Somalia should be promoted," he said. "With endless internal conflict in Somalia and the lack of governance, these are fundamental reasons giving rise to the phenomenon."

"The international community should promote the dialogue among the different parties in Somalia so as to stabilize the situation and establish efficient government control so as to forestall the occurrence of the phenomenon," he said.

Not long ago, the African Union decided to strengthen their peacekeeping force in Somalia," he said. "This is conducive to the stabilization in Somalia, and the United Nations should continue to provide support in this respect and to explore the possibility of deploying the UN force."

Secondly, the economic and social development of Somalia should be accelerated, he said. "The stagnant economy and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Somalia are very important causes for this rampant piracy, with the majority of the youths in Somalia unemployed and millions of people struggling for life."

"With all of these economic and social issues in Somalia, the Somali piracy problem cannot be eradicated," he said. "The donor countries, international organizations and non-governmental organizations should play a bigger role and to pool their resources, both human and financial, so as to improve the social and economic situation in Somalia."

Thirdly, the regional strategy to solve the Somalia piracy issues should be formulated to eradicate the problem, he said. " The peace process and development in Somalia should be promoted."

"This will need the cooperation of the regional countries and the international community," he said. "They have already started this effort. The coastal states along the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Indian Ocean have already started their cooperation. "

"We support the formulation of the international cooperation, and such measures as the arms embargo and the freezing of assets," he said. "We also support efforts to cut the supply of arms and funds for the Somali pirates."