FRENCH UPDATES ON COUNTER-PIRACY; EU COORDINATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 001753

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/12/2018
TAGS: PREL FR EUN
SUBJECT: FRENCH UPDATES ON COUNTER-PIRACY; EU COORDINATION
CELL OPERATIONAL TODAY

REF: STATE 100149

Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Kathleen Allegrone for reas
ons 1.4 b and d.


1. (C) Summary. France has not yet identified another
nation to take over escorting World Food Program shipments
(which the French call "Operation Alcyon") once Canada's
scheduled escort duty stops on September 27, according to MFA
desk officers Samer Melki and Guillaume Dabouis during a
September 18 meeting. Melki advised that starting next week,
one French ship will be devoted to anti-piracy, but that the
ship could be involved in any one of three possible missions
competing for its support, including WFP escort duty,
protection of fishing vessels, and keeping open Gulf of Aden
shipping routes. Melki and Dabouis said the EU's four-person
coordination cell is scheduled to become operational on
September 19. Melki said that French Presidency has affirmed
the principle of complementarity: France will welcome
contributions in any forum that complement existing efforts,
noting that new initiatives should bring additional
resources. Melki said that the French have affirmed this
position with European partners, recognizing that some (such
as Germany) may still fear that planning a possible NATO
mission would negatively impact the EU mission already
underway by coopting the naval assets under consideration.
He reiterated that France's goal is essentially pragmatic,
i.e., to have as many assets as possible deployed to the
region as quickly as possible to combat piracy in the region.
Note: Post has also transmitted the formal demarche in
reftel and will provide any further response as it becomes
available. End Summary.

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WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: NO SOLUTION YET
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2. (C) On September 18, MFA desk officers Samer Melki and
Guillaume Dabouis said France has not yet identified another
nation to take over escorting World Food Program shipments
(which the French call "Operation Alcyon") once Canada's
scheduled escort duty stops on September 27. Recent
consultations with the Canadian EMBASSY in Paris have
produced no sign Canada is willing to extend. None of the
countries that had previously expressed interest have made a
firm commitment, leaving the question open for now. When
queried about the French ship Birot, which Post understands
may be scheduled to transit in parallel with the next WFP
shipment, Melki said he had no immediate information about
such operational questions, but would consult with the MOD
and provide feedback. He emphasized that the French position
so far has been to focus on demarching other possible
contributors, as France has already once served as an escort
for the WFP. Melki said France might be interested in
pursuing coordinated demarches with the U.S. to any third
countries that might be identified as potential contributors;
Dabouis specifically mentioned Japan, India, and South Africa
as other countries with naval assets in the region.

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FRENCH CONTRIBUTIONS AND GOALS
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3. (C) Melki advised that starting next week, one French
ship will be devoted to anti-piracy, but that the ship could
be involved in any one of three possible missions essentially
competing for its support: WFP escort duty; protection of
fishing vessels; and keeping open Gulf of Aden shipping
routes. He said no decision has been made yet, to the best
of his knowledge, but that recent incidents underscore the
importance of protecting both fishing vessels and Gulf of
Aden routes - suggesting that the WFP might not be the
highest priority. He said that in any case the decision
would be political, high-level, and possibly last-minute.
Melki emphasized that the French goal is to identify with
partners as many assets as possible in order for the
international community to effectively address the
three-pronged piracy challenge.

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EU EFFORTS PROGRESSING
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4. (C) Melki and Dabouis said the EU's four-person
coordination cell is scheduled to become operational on

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September 19. The initial coordination effort will focus on
the one French vessel and, according to rumors Melki reported
from MOD channels, one Spanish plane (reportedly a P-3 Orion
surveillance plane). The chains of command will remain
national, while the central coordination will have a broad
scope: contact with ship owners, contact between the
operational community and Secretary-General Solana's staff,
and serving as a clearinghouse to identify needs and match
them with available resources. Melki noted that the cell
could coordinate participation by any third countries, not
just EU member-states. The French are continuing to demarche
European countries on resources they could contribute, as
well as to build political support for expansion to a formal
ESDP mission. Melki noted that other EU members such as
Germany and the Netherlands, as well as Sweden, are
interested in contributing but need a formal ESDP mission to
provide the legal authorization. In that regard, the
September 15 GAERC approval of a "Strategic Military Option"
is a useful first step towards a formal ESDP mission. He
noted that Spain was very interested initially in protecting
fishing vessels, but has not yet confirmed the participation
of any specific ship. If Spain does contribute a ship, which
presumably would be devoted to protecting the fishing fleet
during the fishing season, the question remains of whether it
would be made available for other counter-piracy efforts in
the off season. A credible EU mision would need a minimum of
3 ships to cover the three mission areas. Despite shortfalls
in the near-term, he personally is reasonably optimistic in
the medium-term because so many EU member-states have
expressed interest in principle.

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POSSIBLE ROLE FOR NATO
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5. (C) Melki said that French Presidency has confirmed the
guiding principle of complementarity: France will welcome
contributions in any forum that complement existing efforts,
noting that new initiatives should bring additional
resources. Melki said that the French have affirmed this
position with European partners, recognizing that some (such
as Germany) may still fear that planning a possible NATO
mission would negatively impact the EU mission already
underway by co-opting the naval assets under consideration.
France does not oppose studying options at NATO, as long as
they take into consideration existing EU efforts to act in
complementarity. Melki stressed that there is "room for
everyone" on this multi-faceted issue that spans a large
geographic area.

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THE UN REMAINS KEY
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6. (C) When asked about press reports that France will
introduce a UN resolution on piracy, Melki said the UN's
continued engagement is critical on two fronts. First, he
stressed that the EU coordination cell would not, and is not
intended to, substitute for efforts led by the UNSYG to
institutionalize implementation of resolution 1814, with its
specific provisions for WFP support. Secondly, he said a new
French resolution would build on resolution 1816, dealing
with piracy more broadly, to reaffirm the concerns it
expresses, note the aggravation of the situation (more
sophisticated means, greater distances, and more violence),
and encourage member-states to take appropriate action.
Melki specifically said that France would welcome a mechanism
under UNSYG auspices to permanently implement resolution
1814/Operation Alcyon. He reiterated that France's goal is
essentially pragmatic, i.e., to have as many assets as
possible deployed to the region as quickly as possible to
combat piracy throughout the region.


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