INDEX:
Protection of Shipping from Piracy / Meetings at NATO and United Nations
ERITREA
Interference with Diplomatic Pouches
TRANSCRIPT:
View Video Full Text
Released on November 18, 2008
10:38 a.m. EST
MR. MCCORMACK: Okay, on to part two, or maybe technically part three
of the briefing. Who wants to start?
QUESTION: Well, what was part one?
MR. MCCORMACK: My introduction.
QUESTION: Oh.
MR. MCCORMACK: You weren't here for that, Matt.
QUESTION: I missed it. I'm sorry.
MR. MCCORMACK: It's okay. Sorry about the Bills. It's a tough loss.
QUESTION: Do you have any information on the Saudi oil tanker that was
kidnapped off the east coast of Africa and is now in a Somali port
frequented by pirates?
MR. MCCORMACK: I think DOD probably has a better handle on that. I've
seen a lot of quotations from people related to the Fifth Fleet.
They're monitoring the situation very closely. I can't offer you any
more detailed accounts than they have already given in public.
QUESTION: But what are you doing in terms of the diplomacy on this?
There have been quite a lot of discussions on how to approach this
increased piracy along the east coast. Are you pulling together a
meeting to try and work out a new strategy? Are you –
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, the –
QUESTION: Have you got your maritime lawyers on the case working out
how far they can go, what they can do?
MR. MCCORMACK: Right. Well, there are a few parts to that. First of
all, up at the United Nations, we're working with other members of the
Security Council to take a look at what might be done in the Security
Council that would allow more effective action. I'm not a maritime law
expert, but there are limits to what you can do in these kinds of
cases.
That said, there are vessels in the area from Russia, from NATO, and
European countries that are specifically charged with ensuring that
humanitarian supplies get through to Somalia. And they also have
certain missions with respect to trying to prevent piracy. In doing
so, trying to prevent piracy or to deal with acts of piracy, ensuring
the safety and well-being of the crew is really of paramount
importance. That is a long tradition.
So it's a hard issue when you're talking about these acts of piracy
taking place in the – on the high seas outside of the territorial
waters of any country. All of that said, it's gotten people's
attention. It has gotten people's attention for quite some time. I
know the Secretary is concerned by the matter, and she has asked
people here in the Department to take a look at what else might be
done beyond what we are already doing in the Security Council about
these issues. Because, you know, eventually it does have real economic
effects when you talk about potentially shipments in that area, in the
area off the Horn of Africa into the Red Sea.
So it is an issue we're taking a look at, but it is also not an easy
one. It's a complicated issue.
QUESTION: There's going to be a NATO meeting in Brussels shortly. Are
you planning on raising this issue?
MR. MCCORMACK: You mean the ministerial?
QUESTION: Mm-hmm, the ministerial. Are you going to –
MR. MCCORMACK: I'll check for you.
QUESTION: Are you planning on raising it?
MR. MCCORMACK: I'll check for you. I know that at the perm rep level
and at the mission level, that they have been working on it,
obviously, of a deployment of a – you know, or authorization of a NATO
force down in that area. I'll see as we get closer to that meeting
what exactly will be on the agenda.
QUESTION: I mean, what's the mood like for an international
intervention of a, you know, major force, sending more ships from the
Fifth Fleet, for example, or from elsewhere as (inaudible)?
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, again, you can talk to DOD about the deployment
of their forces. You're – I saw a quotation from somebody out of the
Fifth Fleet talking – you're talking about an area of a million square
miles of ocean. And there – obviously, this is a real issue. It's a
real international concern. It affects a lot of different countries,
not only those that own the cargo, but also the flag registries of a
lot of these ships.
But there are also a lot of other missions around the world. So navies
and militaries are going to have to make decisions about how they
array those forces. I know we do have some in the region that are
engaged in various kinds of operations, including counterterrorism
operations. But I would leave it to the Department of Defense to
describe in any more detail any plans that they may have concerning
deployment of their assets.
QUESTION: The pirates are expected to demand ransom for this ship.
That's what they've done previously. What would your advice be to the
Saudis? I mean, they've got a $100 million worth of oil on that ship,
and obviously their crew is at risk.
MR. MCCORMACK: I don't think they need our advice. They're fully capable of –
QUESTION: But as a matter of principle, though, usually the U.S. is
not in the habit of paying up ransoms, whether it's for humans, for
cargo –
MR. MCCORMACK: Look, you know, in the context of this question which
you raise, I am not going to try to offer any advice to the Saudis on
the issue.
QUESTION: Can we just stick with this money thing for one second?
MR. MCCORMACK: Sure.
QUESTION: I mean, reading between the lines, it seems pretty clear
there's not a whole lot of enthusiasm, at least as you're reflecting
it, in the Administration for any kind of a greater American –
MR. MCCORMACK: No, we already – look, again, I leave it to the
military planners and the civilian and military officials at the
Department of Defense to make decisions about deployment of their
assets. That's not for us to do here at the State Department. They are
the experts in assessing risk, assessing the possibility of success in
a mission, and also assessing the various obligations that we as a
nation have. So you know, I certainly don't mean to dismiss the issue.
Far from it. We were just talking about this issue over the past
several days with the Secretary, so I know that she is concerned about
it, and I know we are looking at what else we might do as a nation
working with others to try to address the issue.
But as I said in response to Sue's question, it is a complicated
issue, and there is established international law that – regarding the
high seas and what can and can't be done. This is not a new issue. Our
first Secretary of State dealt with the issue of piracy more than 200
years ago, led to the formation of a navy for this country. So it's an
issue that we have a lot of experience with, and there's a lot of case
law and international law that guides us. But all of that said, we are
taking a look at what we might – what might be done, and we are trying
to work in the Security Council to see what might be done.
QUESTION: When you say you're taking a look at what might be done,
could you paint a few additional scenarios, apart from what's going on
at the UN?
MR. MCCORMACK: Not at this point, no. No, we're just taking at look at
the situation to see what else might be done.
QUESTION: What about advice for shipping? Is that updated?
MR. MCCORMACK: You know, I'm sure that there – you know, there are
folks responsible for those sort of things, notice to mariners and so
forth. I think those – I think they come out of the DOD. But you know,
look, we'll provide our input and all information, make sure that
people are aware. But ultimately, individuals and private business
have to make their own decisions and assessments of risk.
QUESTION: Are you reaching out to lawyers, for example, and others (inaudible) –
MR. MCCORMACK: You know, Sue, I don't know. I don't know.
Yeah.
QUESTION: I'm not sure exactly, but does this merit – never mind. Is
State sticking –
MR. MCCORMACK: They're pretty good at assessing their own risk, by the way.
QUESTION: Sticking in this area of the world, yesterday both the
Embassy in Asmara and then the State Department put out messages
talking about closing down the – well, closing down the consular
section for all their emergency services.
MR. MCCORMACK: Mm-hmm.
QUESTION: And it talked about how the Eritreans were interfering with
the diplomatic pouches. Can you be more specific about what that means
– interfering? Are they, like, rummaging through these?
MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah, I saw –
QUESTION: I mean, are they taking things?
MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah, I heard about this and I heard about the
suspension of regular consular operations. Let me look into it more
for you, Matt, and get a better answer for you than I have already.
QUESTION: And do you know if there's going to be any kind of a
reciprocal – I mean, are there going to be any steps taken on the
Eritreans here?
MR. MCCORMACK: I'll check. I'll check for all – on all these things, Matt.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR. MCCORMACK: Okay, great.
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