China on Wednesday called on the international community to work toward an integrated solution to the piracy menace in Somalia.

"An effective fight against Somali piracy still awaits an integrated solution," China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, Liu Zhenmin, told a Security Council meeting.

He noted that China had provided an escort flotilla and other contributions and would continue to cooperate with international efforts.

It was essential, however, that all efforts in that area comply with international law applicable to the sea and maritime commerce, and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of littoral States, particularly Somalia, he said.

In that context, it was crucial to support the return of stability in Somalia, even though political reconciliation had been stagnant, he said.

Liu said that regional states should be supported to help the piracy fight, and regional initiatives should be encouraged.

"We believe that to put an effective end to pirate attacks, the international community should further expand the maritime escort operations and relevant participating countries should also improve their coordination in maritime escort operations," he said.

In this regard, China has proposed that the various naval forces deployed in the waters "define areas of responsibility in order to improve the efficiency of escort operations and to lower the possibility of pirates' succeeding attempts," he added.