CRI听力：China Urges Int'l Community to Take Coordinated Efforts to Fight Against Piracy

China has urged the international community to make concerted and coordinated efforts to fight pirates along the Somali coast.(WWw.hxen.net)

Liu Zhenmin, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, made the announcement upon the UN Security Council's approval of imposing sanctions on pirates, arms smugglers, and perpetrators of instability in Somalia.

The Chinese diplomat said the move is a fresh attempt to help end lawlessness in the African nation.

"The issue of Somali pirates is a common challenge for the whole world and calls for a coordinated resolution. China expects the UN to take the leading role in this. The international community should not avoid the essence of rampant piracy embodied in Somalia's internal crisis."

The council is considering deploying a peacekeeping operation to assist the transitional government in carrying out a peace program to end the civil war that has ravaged Somalia for years.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula says Somali pirates have collected more than 150 million US dollars in ransom over the past year.

He called on ship owners not to pay the ransom when their vessels are hijacked off the coast of Somalia because such payments would embolden the pirates.

"We are advised that in the last twelve months, ransoms in excess of 150 million dollars have been paid to these criminals, and that is why they are becoming more and more audacious in their activities."

Pirates have been causing havoc for more than a year in some the world's most dangerous waters, which connect Europe with Asia and the Middle East. They have taken millions of dollars in ransom, raised insurance costs and threatened humanitarian aid supplies.

According to the International Maritime Organization, more than 120 attacks have been reported off the coast of Somalia this year, resulting in the seizure of more than 35 ships and the kidnapping of more than 600 crew members who were held for ransom.