VZCZCXRO8593
RR RUEHDE RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHYN #0274/01 0421423
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 111423Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY SANAA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1182
INFO RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0245
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RULSJGA/COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA
RHRMDAW/NAVCENTMETOCCEN BAHRAIN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 000274 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARP:AMACDONALD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EWWT PREL PTER MCAP YM
SUBJECT: SANAA'S ANTI-PIRACY CONFERENCE PLUMBS THE DEPTHS 
OF REGIONAL COOPERATION 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY. Attendance was high at the February 10-11 
UK-funded maritime security conference in Sana'a. 
Participants agreed to better information sharing and 
increased capacity building, but were unable to decide on the 
mechanisms to reach these goals.  Although constrained by a 
lack of resources, the Yemen Coast Guard presented a strong 
case to focus regional efforts in Yemen.  END SUMMARY. 
 
WHO TO CALL? 
--------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The regional representatives attending the maritime 
security conference agreed for the need to share information 
to better utilize the limited resources in the area.  This 
idea stemmed from frustration expressed by the Puntland and 
Somaliland representatives who said they had intelligence on 
where and whom the pirates are, but did not know how to 
report this information to the international and regional 
communities.  Each country was asked to provide a single 
point of contact for maritime safety issues.  When asked who 
the Yemeni point of contact was, however, Yemen Coast Guard 
(YCG) General Director of Operations CDR Shugga Almahdi told 
Poloff, "I am not sure.  My operations center?"  (Note.  The 
ROYG appears not to have designated an authority on 
anti-piracy; during a February 10 meeting Director of the 
Foreign Minister's Office Abdul Hakim al-Eryani told Pol/E 
Chief that he "thought" the ROYG's contact was the Minister 
of Transportation.  End note) 
 
WHERE TO TRAIN? 
----------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The delegates also agreed on the need for 
additional training, but there were concerns about 
duplicating CJTF-HOA and International Maritime Organization 
(IMO) efforts already in place.  The UK and European 
Commission's description of the proposed expansion of the 
Yemeni training center to include regional players as 
"complementary" to other initiatives did not convince the 
Djiboutians, who expressed concern that the conference was 
overriding the IMO's decision to build a center there.  While 
the UK and YCG delegates attempted to distinguish between the 
administrative functions of the Djiboutian center and the 
operational functions of the Yemeni center, suspicions of 
encroachment remained. 
 
WHO PAYS? 
---------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Discussions on regional capacity building focused 
primarily on Yemen's capabilities; however the 
representatives from Somaliland, Puntland, and Somalia 
pleaded their case for more assistance.  "Yemen lacks the 
capability to pursue the pirates," Abdu Hersi, Director 
General of Fisheries in Puntland told Poloff, "So the 
international community needs to decide if they want to 
continue losing the battle against the enemies (pirates) in 
the sea, or help us fight them on land, where they can be 
contained." 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Meanwhile, the YCG remains handcuffed by financial 
constraints, despite rumors that the organization will not be 
affected by the ROYG's 50% budget cuts.  "We are waiting to 
see if the President will give the YCG a special exemption 
from the budget cuts," General Director of Operations Almahdi 
told Poloff during the conference, "but for now there is no 
money for travel, for fuel; it is a very bad situation."  He 
has been forced to stop all anti-smuggling patrols and is no 
longer able to go to Aden to do inspections.  If Yemen is to 
participate in the "joint exercises" recommended during the 
outcome of the conference, then a donor will have to pay for 
everything, said Almahdi, including the YCG's fuel. 
 
COMMENT 
-------- 
 
¶6.  Due to its existing infrastructure, long coastline, and 
proximity to the international shipping channel, Yemen makes 
a strong argument to become the region's anti-piracy focal 
point, despite hesitations from its Horn of Africa neighbors 
who are also maneuvering for a piece of the anti-piracy 
assistance pie.  END COMMENT. 
 
SANAA 00000274  002 OF 002 
 
 
SECHE