国内英语新闻:China backs fight against Somali piracy in light of international law

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- 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."