CONTACT GROUP ON SOMALI PIRACY: PRC WILLING TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 000066 SIPDIS STATE FOR PM/PPA DGLANCY, DHOPKINS, EFOSTER E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2019 TAGS: PREL EWWT KCRM MOPS PBTS PHSA PTER CH SO SUBJECT: CONTACT GROUP ON SOMALI PIRACY: PRC WILLING TO PARTICIPATE BUT URGES CAUTIOUS APPROACH REF: A. STATE 1223 ¶B. STATE 1225 Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: China will participate in the Contact Group on Somali Piracy (CGSP) but would like to see member states take a cautious approach, MFA Department of International Organizations and Conferences UN Affairs Division Deputy Director Sun Xiaobo told PolOff January 9 in response to reftel points. China's delegation will be headed by UN Deputy Permanent Representative Ambassador Liu Zhenmin and include six officials from the MFA, Ministry of Transport (MOT) and Ministry of National Defense (MND). China would like the CGSP to be an informal, flexible mechanism but does not wish to chair one of the working groups. End Summary. China's Delegation to the CGSP -------------- ¶2. (C) China has agreed to participate in the CGSP on January 13-14, as well as the coordination pre-meeting on January 13. China's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Liu Zhenming, will head the Chinese delegation to the CGSP. The delegation will include MFA officials UN Affairs Division Deputy Director Sun Xiaobo, Cheng Lie, Miao Deyu, and Xu Yu, as well as MOT official Zhuo Li and MND official Zhang Qilin. CGSP Should Be Loose, Flexible Mechanism -------------- ¶3. (C) China welcomes the initiative to establish the CGSP and is "ready to participate," Sun said. China's understanding is that the CGSP was established at the request of UNSC Resolution 1851 and shall operate in line with international law and relevant UN resolutions. China believes that the CGSP should be limited in size. Sun stressed that the CGSP should be a "light, loose and flexible mechanism" rather than a formal, binding institution with a charter. The CGSP should be a contact point for countries to coordinate efforts to combat piracy, Sun added. China Supports Working Groups But Not Ready to Chair -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) China supports the idea of working groups but wants other countries to take the lead in chairing them, Sun said. Sun said coordinating military operations and working out political and legal issues will take time and require "in-depth discussion" and a "cautious" approach. He stressed that CGSP members should not rush to make decisions, noting that China's delegation will listen to the views of all members and report back to relevant Chinese Government ministries before agreeing to any major decisions. Randt