On December 16, 2008, Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei attended the ministerial meeting of the Security Council on Somali piracy. Called by the United States, the meeting was chaired by Croatian Prime Minister Sanader who is the rotating president of the Security Council and participated in by the foreign ministers of countries including the US, the UK and Russia. Somali foreign minister was also invited to the meeting.

The Security Council members exchanged in-depth opinions on the international cooperation in fighting against Somali piracy and expressed support for increasing coordination and collaboration and strengthening capacity building of Somalia and other countries in the region. Resolution 1851 adopted at the meeting called on countries and regional organizations which have the capacity to actively deploy naval vessels and military aircrafts in accordance with Security Council resolutions and international law to join in the fight against Somali piracy and armed robbery at sea offenses; encouraged related countries and organizations to establish a mechanism on international cooperation as the liaison point for the fight against piracy off the Somali coast ; urged to create a center in the region to coordinate information relevant to piracy and increase regional capacity to effectively investigate and prosecute piracy and armed robbery; further authorized countries and regional organizations taking part in the battle against piracy to conduct attacks on pirates and armed robbers in Somali territorial land and air space as required by the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia.

Addressing the meeting, He noted that China welcomes the effective cooperation of the international community in the fight against piracy off the coast of Somalia and supports the efforts of relevant nations to send warships to crack down on pirates in the region in accordance with international law and Security Council resolutions. China is seriously considering sending naval ships to the Gulf of Aden and waters off the Somali coast for escorting operating in the near future.

Elaborating four points of proposition on fighting Somali piracy, he stressed it is very important that the United Nations, especially the Security Council, plays its core role of maintaining world peace and security and effectively coordinates actions of countries against Somali piracy. In order to fight piracy, the international community should strictly abide by international law and Security Council resolutions, develop comprehensive strategies to seek complete solution of the Somali issue in the political, military, economic, diplomatic and judicial sectors and help Somalia strengthen capacity building and conduct regional cooperation.

He noted that rampant piracy is only a symptom of the profound political, economic, social and humanitarian crisis faced by Somalia. The international community should take the fight against Somali piracy seriously, but greater focus should be put on eradicating the root causes of piracy. Parties concerned should continue to push forward the political process of Somalia, authorize the UN to deploy peace-keeping operations in the country as soon as possible, prevent further deterioration of humanitarian situation and increase assistance to Somalia in infrastructure and development programs.