![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
Big Picture: High stakes in standoff
TOPLINE: A U.S. Navy EP-3E Aries II surveillance aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing April 1 on Hainan Island off the coast of China after a midair collision with a Chinese F-8 fighter jet. The Chinese jet crashed into the South China Sea, and its pilot is presumed dead. The U.S. Navy plane managed to land safely with its crew uninjured. China is holding the 24-member American crew in what authorities there call "protective custody." IN CONTEXT: U.S. officials say the Navy plane left Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, for a routine patrol mission and was in international airspace when the collision occurred. U.S. President George Bush has demanded the return of the crew and the damaged spy plane. Chinese officials counter that U.S. military planes should not fly so close to China. They add that the spy plane intruded into Chinese airspace after it had suffered damage and that the U.S. crew lost immunity once it landed in China without permission. Beijing maintains that the U.S. crew violated international law and that an investigation into the crash is ongoing. Chinese officials have demanded a formal apology from the United States. On April 5, Bush offered his personal regrets at the apparent loss of the Chinese pilot but stopped short of apologizing for the mishap. Bush reiterated the U.S. demand for the immediate release of the crew and the return of the damaged plane. The United States proposes that an investigation into the collision should be a joint effort between the two governments. U.S. diplomats have been allowed to meet with the detained crew members and report that they are "in good health and high spirits." While a senior Pentagon official has said that the crew destroyed sensitive intelligence-gathering equipment on the plane, analysts were divided over whether the Chinese could still learn about U.S. surveillance techniques from studying the plane itself. The standoff comes at a sensitive time in U.S.-China relations. Bush is due to decide soon whether to approve a Taiwanese request for the United States to supply it with advanced weapons and defense systems. Beijing has warned that the sale of such weapons could trigger a cross-straits war.
RELATED STORIES:
China-U.S. diplomacy battle over spy plane RELATED SITES:
USCINCPAC Homepage |
![]() |
![]() |
WORLD
U.S. 'ready to talk' with N. Korea Death toll nears 1,000 in South Asia's cold spell IAEA: Year for Iraq inspections U.S. doubles forces in Persian Gulf Mugabe resignation offer proposed OPEC to raise daily oil output (MORE)
![]() N. Y. plans to heal skyline Stocks rise on Case departure Lieberman's presidential announcement today New arrests may be linked to UK ricin scare (MORE)
![]() Jordan says farewell for the third time Shaq could miss playoff game for child's birth Ex-USOC official says athletes bent drug rules (MORE)
![]() |
![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
Back to the top | ![]() |
© 2003 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. |