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Calling for more efforts to deal with the rampant piracy in the Gulf of Aden, China yesterday said it would attend an international donors conference on Somalia.

China is among the many countries that have sent naval ships to patrol the waters off Somalia to prevent pirate attacks on commercial vessels.

Despite the presence of several patrol forces, Somali pirates have attacked more than 80 vessels this year and are holding at least 14 ships and over 200 crew members, according to Xinhua.

"We call for more efforts and inputs to uproot causes of the rampant piracy to keep the peace and stability of Somalia," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu told reporters.

Jiang also said that China would send senior diplomats from its EU delegation to the two-day international donors conference that will start today in Brussels.

The conference, which will also be attended by representatives of the United Nations, the African Union and the European Union, aims to raise funds to bolster the African Union peacekeeping force and the Somali police force.

Wu Miaofa, an expert on the United Nations with the China Institute for International Studies, told China Daily that Somali piracy is high on the UN's agenda because "it has threatened normal sea transportation, threatened seafarers' lives and possessions and caused instability".

"The lure of large sums of ransom and the ease of escaping punishment due to a lack of law enforcement are the reasons behind the resurgent piracy," Wu said.

He warned that the fight against Somali piracy will be "difficult and long-lasting".

Patrol forces at sea alone won't help rein in piracy, Wu said and added that the political instability and destitution in the lawless country must be addressed to tackle piracy.

"The world will have to help the Somali government improve its governance, retain the political stability and develop the weak economy," Wu said and noted that the donors conference will help combat piracy.

Questions:

1. Where will the international conference on Somali piracy take place?

2. What are the two aims of the conference?

Answers:

1. In Brussels.

2. To raise funds to bolster the African Union peacekeeping force and the Somali police force.

（英语点津 Helen 编辑）

Brendan joined The China Daily in 2007 as a language polisher in the Language Tips Department, where he writes a regular column for Chinese English Language learners, reads audio news for listeners and anchors the weekly video news in addition to assisting with on location stories. Elsewhere he writes Op’Ed pieces with a China focus that feature in the Daily’s Website opinion section.

He received his B.A. and Post Grad Dip from Curtin University in 1997 and his Masters in Community Development and Management from Charles Darwin University in 2003. He has taught in Japan, England, Australia and most recently China. His articles have featured in the Bangkok Post, The Taipei Times, The Asia News Network and in-flight magazines.