Series of EmergencyNet News Reports Concerning A Collision Between U.S. and Chinese Planes Near Hainan Island : 01-16 Apr 2001 

INSTANT 14:00CDT - 16 Apr 2001

CHINA/USA Meeting Later This Week...

Washington, DC/Beijing, China: The United States on Monday signaled a tough stance going into a meeting with China on their dispute over a downed U.S. Navy surveillance plane, insisting that surveillance flights will be resumed. Officials from the two sides are scheduled to meet on Wednesday in Beijing to discuss the flights. In other news, a U.S. aircraft carrier was said to be sailing away from China in the western Pacific on Monday and defense officials said there were no plans to move it where it could launch fighter jets to protect reconnaissance flights off China's coast. The unnamed officials were responding to a Washington Post report quoting Navy officials as saying that the carrier USS Kitty Hawk, based in Japan, was sailing in the direction of the South China Sea, off the Chinese coast. 

Fri 4/13/2001 -- 14:35CDT 

From: ERRI MIDDAY INTELLIGENCE SUMMARY

CHINA:  U.S. diplomats today disclosed details they learned from the U.S. Navy surveillance plane crew that was released from a Chinese island after an 11-day standoff. Officials said the missing pilot of a Chinese jet fighter crashed into the U.S. plane's left engine and was chopped in half after it slammed into the plane's nose. 

Officials also said the crew raced to destroy classified information as Chinese troops surrounded the crippled plane on Hainan Island. The details were based on accounts from the spy plane's 24-member crew and added to U.S. claims that the Chinese pilot caused the collision. Chinese officials say the U.S. plane swerved into the fighter jet. It was also noted that while the U.S. plane was plummeting, 15 to 25 Mayday calls were made and the Chinese never bothered to even answer the distress calls to offer assistance. It was also reported that the wingman of the jet that crashed, seeked permission to shoot down the U.S. plane.

*****

13 Apr 2001 - 09:00CDT

Debriefing Underway and Then U.S. Crew Homeward Bound For Easter Homecoming

PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII: As they readied for the final leg of their 6,000-mile journey home and with 11 days of captivity on a Chinese island behind them, 24 crew members of a U.S. Navy surveillance plane faced more debriefings today. The crew remained on a restricted naval base for a second day as dozens of military investigators debrief them about their aircraft's collision with a Chinese fighter jet on 1 April, their harrowing landing on Hainan, the treatment they received from the Chinese and other related intelligence matters.

WASHINGTON, DC: U.S. analysts said on Thursday that it is likely that China will use the damaged U.S. Navy surveillance plane on Hainan Island as its next bargaining chip to extract concessions from the United States, but eventually will return it. The $100 million EP-3 aircraft, which made an emergency landing on the island after a collision with a Chinese fighter jet, will be high on the agenda at talks scheduled between Washington and Beijing next Wednesday. 

12 Apr 2001

CHINA/HAWAII:  Leaving their crippled surveillance plane on a Chinese island, 24 U.S. crew members headed for Hawaii today with plans for a weekend reunion with families and friends on the U.S. mainland. Their long flight home ended a 12-day diplomatic standoff after a collision with a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea. Weeks of compromise had led U.S. officials from expressions of "regret" to the word "sorry" during the weekend. Finally, a letter delivered to Chinese officials yesterday said the United States was "very sorry" for the pilot's death and for the U.S. plane's landing in China without permission.

23:30CDT - 11 Apr 2001

U.S. Crew Arrives Safely In Guam

GUAM (EmergencyNet News) -- A collective sigh of relief was heard in both Guam and Washington, DC as the crew of a downed EP-3E Aries landed in Guam early on Thursday morning (local time). According to military sources the crew was treated to an All-American meal of steak, salad, and apple pie as they celebrated their release from Chinese custody. The crew of 24 will now be flown to Hawaii for a medical check-up, debriefing, and other necessary matters. They will then be flown to Whidbey Island, WA, which is their home base.

Despite China triumphantly proclaimed victory in the government-backed Beijing Morning Post, which on Thursday carried the banner headline: "The United States finally apologizes!", there are a number of issues concerning the collision and subsequent detainment of the American crew that could remain obstacles to future relations between the U.S. and China. The return of the damaged U.S. plane, and whether or not the U.S. will continue surveillance flights both remain high on the list of unresolved issues, depending on which side you ask.

Repercussions are also possible.  Several members of the U.S. congress have already weighed-in in the aftermath of the incident and expressed their support for a impending decision to sell additional military hardware to Taiwan. Others said that they also want to review "Most Favored Trade Status" agreements for China and whether or not to support Chinese entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). 

At least one thing is certain, in the wake of the EP-3 hostage incident, many Americans are now less naive about China's status as a "friend of the United States," and more likely to realistically view our relationship with the Chinese as "strategic competitors."          

*****

13:00CDT - 11 Apr 2001

SECDEF RUMSFELD ON RETURN OF EP-3 CREW

"Arrangements for the return of the 24 men and women of the U.S. Navy EP-3 are moving forward. The Department of Defense is working on the details of bringing them home as soon as the diplomatic arrangements have been finalized. Issues relating to the release of the EP-3 aircraft are still being discussed. The American people can be justifiably proud of the crew and their service to our country."

Source: NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department of Defense, No. 154-01

*****

08:00CDT - 11 Apr 2001

China Will Release Crew of EP-3E??

Washington, DC/Beijing, China (EmergencyNet News) -- Chinese foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan reportedly is today quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as saying that the crew of the U.S. EP-3E will be released "soon." The end to the eleven-day stand-off reportedly came after President Bush sent Chinese officials a letter saying the United States is "very sorry" for the EP3's "unauthorized landing" and the death of a Chinese pilot. 

According to state department sources close to the situation, much of the diplomatic wrangling over the release of the EP-3 crew involved the Chinese translation of the words "deep regret," which translates as sei chang bao qian vrs. "extraordinary sympathy" or sei chang wan xi.  

Additionally, the letter, which is to enable the release of the U.S. personnel, sets up a meeting on sets up an April 18 meeting to further discuss the release of the reconnaissance plane itself. It is believed that issues involving future U.S. surveillance flights and the actual disposition of the EP-3 plane will be discussed at that time. EmergencyNet News continues to monitor events concerning the release of the U.S. crew and will provide additional updates as circumstances warrant...  

10 Apr 2001

Tenth Day of Negotiations; Little Progress Apparent

CHINA: The 24 crew members of a U.S. Navy surveillance plane spent their 10th day in detention in China in high spirits, despite evidence suggesting that both sides had dug in for a long haul in an increasingly tense standoff. China said on Tuesday that Secretary of State Colin Powell's saying he was sorry a Chinese fighter pilot died in the collision with the U.S. plane was a step toward resolving the subsequent standoff. But, a Foreign Ministry spokesman repeated that Washington must apologize for the incident.

09 Apr 2001

CHINA: While China's top military newspaper said Beijing had the right to "thoroughly investigate" the crew members, U.S. diplomats pressed on Sunday for daily access to a detained U.S. air crew. China told U.S. diplomats they would be allowed to meet the American crew later Monday, although no details were provided on when. The meeting would be the fourth since the crew was detained after making an emergency landing on Hainan Island after a 1 April collision with a Chinese fighter jet.

08 Apr 2001

HAINAN ISLAND, CHINA:  

Chinese Military Reportedly Taking "Hard-Line" on U.S. Crew's Detention; Hyde Calls U.S. Crew "Hostages"

China's top military newspaper said on Sunday that Beijing is entitled to "thoroughly investigate" the detained members of a U.S. air crew, as well as their surveillance plane, and demanded an end to surveillance flights near the coast. 

The article in the Liberation Army Daily added to indications that China's politically powerful military is pressing for a hard line with Washington. The 24 U.S. crew members have been held at military facilities on Hainan Island since their EP-3E surveillance plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea over one week ago. 

U.S. diplomats were allowed early Sunday to meet with only eight of the 21 men and three women on the island where the plane made an emergency landing. Diplomats saw the crew twice before. 

In related news on Saturday, Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), chairman of the House International Relations Committee, is quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying, "I would call them hostages. They are being held against their will, and five days is a rather long time, especially if you're the one being held in detention."  

``I don't know why they're demanding we apologize. We ought to be demanding that they apologize for surveilling our planes and flying so closely to them,'' Hyde, of Illinois, said in taped remarks for the CNN program ``Evans, Novak, Hunt & Shields.''

07 Apr 2001

Third Crew Meeting With Diplomats To Take Place

As the United States and China moved toward a diplomatic resolution of the crisis, U.S. diplomats awaited a third meeting Saturday with members of a U.S. Navy surveillance plane crew detained in China. Countering U.S. optimism for a rapid release of the crew, China's vice premier repeated Beijing's increasingly obsessive demand for a formal apology. China's official Xinhua News Agency quoted Qian Qichen saying in a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell: "This is the key issue to solving the problem."

After a long delay on Friday, U.S. Army Brig. General Neal Sealock met for the second time with the 24 crew members of the EP-3E surveillance plane. They have been held by the Chinese since they made an emergency landing on Hainan island in the South China Sea after colliding with a Chinese fighter jet on Sunday.

A letter under review by POTUS and Chinese President Jiang Zemin could lead to a resolution of the dispute. The letter, currently in draft form, would express regrets for the collision last Sunday between the plane and a Chinese jet fighter and arrange for the two sides to exchange their views of the incident. It also would clear the way for release of the 24 crew members. The likeliest arrangement for a resolution is to have the two sides make their cases about the collision of the U.S. plane and a Chinese fighter jet at a special meeting of a joint maritime commission set up three years ago to enhance safety on the seas.

The crisis involves a complex mix of international diplomacy and domestic politics, but at root it is driven by vital strategic interests on both sides. An important Chinese naval headquarters is situated just to the north of Hainan Island, where the US aircraft put down. Apart from routine signals intelligence (SIGINT), this area is also a testing ground for new Chinese submarines. 

Some U.S. defense experts also believe that China is deploying new boats that are harder to detect, and might be capable of launching cruise missiles when submerged. That would be a significant step forward for the Chinese Navy and one which has an important bearing on the operations of U.S. carrier battle groups in the region.

Nobody doubts that the mid-air collision was an accident, but Beijing is seeking to use it to make a significant strategic point of its own. It wants to show that it can act to protect its vital interests - to underline, as China sees it - that the Americans are operating in China's backyard and that Washington cannot simply do as it wishes there and escape all the consequences of its actions.

One has to go back to May 1999 and the night U.S. aircraft bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade to see the genesis of China's position. NATO and the United States apologized for what they insisted was a mistake and have paid reparations, but many people in China still question why the building was hit.

For the Chinese, NATO's Kosovo war demonstrated the extraordinary technical superiority of the U.S. military. But, in the view of many Chinese strategic planners, it also showed that Washington would do anything necessary to pursue its interests - a view reinforced by subsequent U.S. policy towards Iraq and other "nations of concern." China has tried to draw upon the military lessons of the Yugoslav conflict and to apply them to its own strategic situation, planning a significant modernization of its air and naval forces.

China's response to the current crisis also underscores Beijing's efforts to demonstrate that the United States - while it may be a superpower - cannot act as it pleases in areas that China believes affect its vital strategic interests. But, it also shows that China is largely insular and inexperienced at handling incidents on the international level and that it is likely to take a unrealistic and parochial view of disputes...that is where the real future danger exists.

06 Apr 2001

US Diplomats Meet Stranded Plane Crew

United States diplomats in China are holding their second meeting with the crew of the US Navy surveillance plane stranded in Hainan province. It comes after Chinese President Jiang Zemin repeated his demand that the United States apologize for the collision between the US surveillance plane and a Chinese fighter jet. The United States is still refusing to say sorry for something it does not admit responsibility for, although earlier in the day POTUS did express "regret" for the accident. It was his third and most conciliatory statement about the crisis in three successive days.

POTUS said: "I regret that a Chinese pilot is missing and I regret one of their airplanes is lost." He stopped short of issuing the apology that China is demanding and said the incident should not destabilize relations. But he added that China must act quickly to return the 24 US crew members who are being detained on an island in southern China.

Jiang added that Chinese officials were exasperated by continued US surveillance flights. He said: "American planes come to the edge of our country and they don't say excuse me. This sort of conduct is not acceptable in any country." But Mr Jiang did say that both sides should try to seek a resolution to the impasse.

The Chinese state news agency and international observers in China say there is a growing sense that China is now more willing discuss the issue with Washington.

The US embassy in Beijing says the second meeting with the crew was planned at 1600 hours local time (0800 GMT) on the island of Hainan, where the US Navy's EP-3E plane made an emergency landing on Sunday after colliding with the Chinese fighter plane. Jiang said that the crew is safe and well, but China still insists that they are law-breakers, responsible for the collision.

There has been no indication that the crew will be released soon, despite warnings from the US President that China risks undermining relations by continuing to hold them. A spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said that the crew were still being questioned about the collision.

05 Apr 2001

EmergencyNet Lead Focus

Chinese Question Crew Of US Plane

China said on Thursday that the crew of a US Navy surveillance plane held on a southern Chinese island are being questioned over their collision with a Chinese fighter jet and accused them of being lawbreakers. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said: "The US crew violated international law." The spokesman couldn't say whether the 24 crew members of the EP-3E surveillance plane were considered spies or what penalties they might face. In fact, the Chinese spokesman has even refused to disclose who was now interrogating the U.S. crew...the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) or Chinese police and/or intelligence agencies.

China welcomed as a "step in the right direction' US statements of regret over a Chinese pilot missing since the collision with the surveillance plane, but repeated a demand for a full apology. The Foreign Ministry spokesman also said China would consider allowing a second meeting between US officials and the crew of the US aircraft, which made an emergency landing on Hainan Island after Sunday's mid-air collision, if an official apology were issued.

Accounts in China and the United States of the mid-air collision between a US surveillance plane and a Chinese fighter jet differ sharply. Each side blames the other for the accident. Here are two versions of events which have emerged from the view of the two countries:

First, the US view -- On 01 April at 09:15 hours (local time), the EP-3 plane was on a routine surveillance mission in international airspace over the South China Sea. It was intercepted by two Chinese fighter aircraft. US Admiral Dennis Blair said such encounters were not unusual. Blair said the Chinese aircraft came up, took a look and reported what they saw and flew away. 

A routine contact. The collision occurred 70 miles off the Chinese island of Hainan. Blair said: "One of them bumped into the wing of the EP-3 aircraft." He said intercepts in recent months had become "aggressive to the point we felt they were endangering the safety of Chinese and American aircraft." The US previously lodged a protest with Chinese officials.

The admiral said the EP-3 is a big plane usually flying straight and level while fighter aircraft are more responsive. Blair said: "The faster, more responsive aircraft has the obligation to stay out of the way of the slower aircraft. It is pretty obvious who bumped into whom." Apparently there was no communication between Chinese and American pilots. There was sufficient damage to the US plane for the pilot to then declare a mayday signal on an open international distress channel.

The White House said two of four propellers were damaged as well as the nose cone, wing flaps and equipment indicating the plane's air speed. It said the plane plummeted 8,000 feet at one point. The pilot diverted to an airfield on Hainan Island where the plane landed 15 to 20 minutes later. The US said it was standard procedure for a damaged plane to land at the nearest airport after issuing a mayday call. The last communication from the plane was that it had landed safely and all 24 military personnel on board were uninjured.

The Chinese view -- After detecting a US plane conducting surveillance off the city of Sanya, two Chinese F-8 fighter jets took off and carried out "routine tracking" of the aircraft. At 09:07 hours, all the planes were flying in the same direction with the US plane on the right.

A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman said: "The immediate cause of the collision was the violation of flight rules by the US plane which made a sudden and big movement to veer towards the Chinese plane. The US plane's nose and left wing rammed the tail of one of the Chinese planes causing it to lose control and plunge into the sea." The pilot, Wang Wei, parachuted from his plane and is still missing, while the other pilot landed his F-8 safely. At 09:33 hours, Chinese officials allege that the US plane illegally entered Chinese territorial airspace and landed at Lingshui Airport in Hainan...

From: ERRI DAILY INTELLIGENCE REPORT-Wednesday, April 4, 2001-Vol. 7, No. 094--08:30CDT

TODAY'S CENTRAL FOCUS:

As Reconnaissance Plane Standoff Continues, Tension Mounts

The United States government has increased its pressure on China to release the crew of a US Navy reconnaissance plane without delay and return the aircraft. However, there is no sign that China is ready to meet its demands, with Chinese President Jiang Zemin again calling on Washington to publicly apologize for the collision between the plane and a Chinese jet fighter.

US officials are seeking further meetings with the 24 crew members who were detained when the spy plane was forced to land on the southern Chinese island of Hainan following the collision on Sunday. But no specific date has yet been set for a meeting, and there are no signs that Beijing is about to free the crew.

POTUS warned China on Tuesday not to undermine bilateral relations by holding onto them. The US President said: "We have allowed the Chinese government to do the right thing. But now it is time for our servicemen and women to return home and it is time for the Chinese government to return our plane."

Jiang said the United States "should bear all responsibilities for the collision incident." But the White House has so far declined to apologize, saying that the incident was an accident. US military officials say it was more likely that the faster, lighter Chinese plane brushed against the slower EP-3. Chinese media, however, pin the blame firmly on Washington, with most daily newspapers running an article on Wednesday condemning US "hegemonistic" behavior. Several newspapers carried photos of the damaged plane, which they presented as "proof" that it was to blame for the collision.

The White House also disclosed severe damage to the nose cone and two engines of the plane. It dropped several thousand feet after its collision with the Chinese fighter, before the pilots regained control. Satellites reportedly showed the plane under tarpaulin at Hainan, with presumably intense Chinese scrutiny of its secret equipment going on underneath.

US Defense attaché Neal Sealock, one of the diplomats who saw the US crew of the EP-3, said the servicemen and women were in good health. US officials now believe the crew managed to destroy some of the intelligence information on the plane. Analysts say it would be catastrophic for the US if the Chinese gained access to the aircraft's computers and hard disks. The pilot of the Chinese jet involved in the collision is still missing.

22:00CDT - 03 Apr 2001

President Bush Says "Now is the Time" for Return of U.S. Navy Plane and Crew

Washington, D.C./Beijing, China (EmergencyNet News) -- The war of words concerning the fate of a U.S. Navy EP-3 and crew continues and may even be escalating. Chinese President Jiang Zemin appears to be adamant about blaming the United States for the collision between the U.S. reconnaissance plane and a Chinese F-8 fighter, and continues to demand an apology. Further, Zemin also stridently demanded that the U.S. discontinue routine surveillance flights near the Chinese coast. Chinese officials also today refused to say when the U.S. personnel might be released to return to the United States.

President George W. Bush, for his part, appears to be increasingly frustrated with Chinese recalcitrance with regard to releasing the U.S. plane and airmen\women. "This accident has the potential of undermining our hopes for a fruitful and productive relationship between our two countries," Bush is quoted by the Reuters news service as saying in a Rose Garden statement this afternoon. "To keep that from happening, our service men and women need to come home."

Bush said he had given the Chinese government time to "do the right thing" and return both the crew and the plane. "But now it is time for our servicemen and women to return home and it is time for the Chinese government to return our plane."

ERRI analysts said that further refusal of the Chinese to release the U.S. plane and crew in a timely manner could prove damaging to their future international ambitions, including admission into the World Trade Organization, sponsorship of the 2008 Olympics, and greater participation in other commercial ventures with the United States.  

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

The Rose Garden

4:03 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon.  I want to report to the American people, and especially to the families involved, that I've just talked with Brigadier General Sealock, who, earlier today, met with our 24 men and women in China.

The General tells me they are in good health, they suffered no injuries, and they have not been mistreated.  I know this is a relief to their loved ones, and to all Americans.

Our crew members expressed their faith in America, and we have faith in them.  They send their love to their families.  They said they're looking forward to coming home, and we are looking forward to bringing them home.

This is an unusual situation, in which an American military aircraft had to make an emergency landing on Chinese soil. Our approach has been to keep this accident from becoming an international incident. We have allowed the Chinese government time to do the right thing. But now it is time for our servicemen and women to return home. And it is time for the Chinese government to return our plane.

This accident has the potential of undermining our hopes for a fruitful and productive relationship between our two countries.  To keep that from happening, our servicemen and women need to come home.

Thank you very much.

END --  4:05 P.M. EDT

Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/04/20010403-3.html

11:30CDT - 03 Apr 2001

"Make it an Accident, Not An Incident"; U.S. Tries to Peacefully Negotiate The Release of U.S. Plane and Crew

Washington, DC/Beijing, China (EmergencyNet News) --  Within the past few minutes, SecState Colin Powell has confirmed that U.S. Consulate officials are now meeting with Chinese officials and the crew of the ill-fated U.S. Navy EP-3 aircraft that was involved in a mid-air collision with a Chinese F-8 fighter three days ago. In a related matter, Sec. Powell also said that "he was concerned about the handling of this matter by Chinese officials," but that there is presently "no linkage" between any potential sale of advanced weapons to Taiwan and the resolution of the on-going situation on Hainan Island.  

Pentagon officials tell EmergencyNet News that it is their hope that the situation with China can be resolved "rapidly" and without "further escalation" of the tensions between Beijing and Washington. But, they also say that it is unlikely that Washington will issue "an apology," as has been demanded by senior Chinese authorities.  

At least one senior military officer told EmergencyNet News this morning that the Pentagon would prefer that the collision be considered "an accident," rather than "an international incident." He also said that the U.S. first priority is to assure the safety and gain the release of the EP-3 crew. Secondarily, the return of the reconnaissance aircraft must then be accomplished, he said. EmergencyNet news continues to monitor events on Hainan Island closely and will provide additional updates as the circumstances warrant...

*****

Excerpted from: ERRI DAILY INTELLIGENCE REPORT-Tuesday, April 3, 2001-Vol. 7, No. 093- 08:30

China Stands Tough On US Reconnaissance Plane

China has rejected US warnings to stay away from its grounded spy plane, saying officials have the right to inspect it. The hardening of Beijing's stance over the plane came after Chinese President Jiang Zemin said the United States must "bear full responsibility" for the collision on Sunday between a Chinese fighter jet and the reconnaissance plane.

US diplomats are anxiously awaiting access to the 24 stranded crew of the US Navy surveillance plane which made an emergency landing on China's southern island of Hainan. China has accused the US plane of ramming its aircraft, but the US says it was probably an accident caused by the Chinese plane.

According to US officials, the last message from the crew said Chinese soldiers were boarding the EP-3 plane, which is packed with sensitive electronic intelligence monitoring equipment. POTUS has called on China to release the plane "without further tampering."

But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao said on Tuesday: "Based on Chinese law, and international practice, we have the right to conduct an investigation." Appearing to mock the US claim that the plane is protected by international law from outside inspection without US permission, Zhu smiled and said: "If this plane is sovereign American territory, how did it land in China?"

Defense analysts say it would be catastrophic for the US if the Chinese managed to gain access to the aircraft and if they've managed to obtain access to the computers and the hard disks.

Chinese officials have told Washington that the crew are all safe. The search for the missing Chinese pilot, who reportedly parachuted from his plane, is continuing. There have been angry denunciations of US policy on Chinese internet bulletin boards, with comparisons made to NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the 1999 Kosovo conflict.

Meanwhile, the US has ordered three of its warships in the South China Sea region to move out of the area. Experts say run-ins between Chinese and US aircraft are quite common along the Chinese coast, although it was the first time an aircraft had made an emergency landing.

Excerpted From: ERRI DAILY INTELLIGENCE REPORT-Monday, April 2, 2001-Vol. 7, No.  092-09:30CDT

TODAY'S CENTRAL FOCUS

Chinese Hold US Reconnaissance Plane Crew

The United States government has criticized China for continuing to hold the crew of a US surveillance plane which made an emergency landing after colliding with a Chinese fighter jet. The US ambassador to Beijing, former US Navy admiral Joseph Prueher, said in Beijing that so far, US officials had not been allowed to see the plane or its 24 crew members. He said there was no legal basis for this, and described it is "inexplicable and inexcusable".

The US says the aircraft - an EP-3 surveillance plane - is sovereign US "territory" and should not be boarded by Chinese officials. The US plane, which is packed with sensitive monitoring equipment, is now on the southern Chinese island of Hainan.

In an escalating row over the incident, the commander of the US Pacific military forces rejected Beijing's claim that the US plane rammed the Chinese jet on Sunday and caused it to crash. Admiral Dennis Blair said that in fact the Chinese planes were at fault and sharply criticized China for more "aggressive" tactics in intercepting US planes. He said: "It's not a normal practice to play bumper cars in the air."

US military officials have warned the Chinese not to "seize, board or inspect" the plane without US permission. None of the crew were hurt, but rescue parties are searching for the Chinese pilot whose whereabouts are not known. Admiral Blair said that US officials had had no contact with the crew since its initial report that it landed with no injuries.

As US officials traveled to Lingshui military airport, on Hainan Island, analysts have said Beijing's statements over the collision are among the strongest heard for almost two years and say the standoff could be a long one.

China's Foreign Ministry has said that "proper arrangements" had been made for the crew, but did not say where they were.

The ministry has put all the blame on the US aircraft for causing the collision. Chinese state television quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying: "A Chinese aircraft was conducting normal flight operations six miles south of Hainan Island when a US plane suddenly veered towards it." The ministry said it had lodged a protest with US authorities and reserved the right to seek damages. This incident comes at a time when Sino-American relations are under increasing strain.

Analysts say the US is moving swiftly to try to defuse what could become a major diplomatic row. Military experts say run-ins between Chinese and US aircraft are quite common along the Chinese coast, although it was the first time an aircraft had made an emergency landing.

Yan Xuetong, an international studies expert at Beijing's Tsinghua University said: "It's very regular for the American navy to have their planes intruding into Chinese airspace. The Chinese then send up fighters and chase them out." U.S. officials maintain that the plane was over international waters and never intruded into Chinese airspace until it declared a "may-day" and made an emergency landing.

*****

07:00CDT - 02 Apr 2001

Increasing Concern About Fate of U.S. Crew

Washington, DC/Hainan, China (EmergencyNet News) -- U.S. Military and diplomatic officials are expressing their increasing concern that Chinese officials have held the crew of the Navy EP-3 electronic reconnaissance plane incommunicado since it was damaged in a mid-air collision with a Chinese fighter plane and forced to land at Lingshui military airport on the Chinese island of Hainan. 

U.S. Ambassador to China, Admiral Joseph Prueher, is being quoted by the Reuters news service today as saying that not allowing the U.S. crew to communicate with the U.S. embassy is "inexplicable and unacceptable." Although diplomats on both sides are doing their best to show restraint and keep the rhetoric to an acceptable level, it is becoming increasingly clear that Sunday's incident is increasing tensions on both sides of the Pacific ocean.

01 Apr 2001

CHINA/UNITED STATES: 

U.S. Navy Plane Reported Down in China

A United States Navy EP-3 electronic reconnaissance plane made an emergency landing in southern China after suffering damage during a collision with one of two Chinese fighter jets that intercepted it during a surveillance flight. The US Pacific Command said its plane was forced to land on Hainan Island after the incident over the South China Sea. The U.S. plane was said to be in international air-space at the time of the collision. 

None of the 24 crew of the American plane were reported to be injured. Chinese sources are claiming that their plane involved in the collision crashed and the pilot of the Chinese plane is missing.  It was unclear if the contact between the two aircraft had been accidental or the result of deliberate bumping by the Chinese or American plane. The Chinese have filed an official diplomatic protest, while American diplomats are attempting to ascertain the status of the U.S. plane and crew... 

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