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U.S.-China Spy Plane Incident Continues
HAIKOU, China, April 8 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - U.S. diplomats on Sunday were pushing for unrestricted daily access to the crew of a surveillance plane detained in southern China, as negotiations for their release inched forward.
While the 24 crewmembers of the EP-3 Aries surveillance plane spent their eighth day in Chinese custody on the island of Hainan, diplomatic bargaining for a solution to the standoff continued in Beijing and Washington.
On April 1st, a U.S. EP-3 surveillance plane bumped into a Chinese jet fighter off the coast of Hainan Island in the South China Sea.
The Chinese fighter crashed, and its pilot remains missing. The pilot parachuted into the South China Sea after the collision in international airspace, and despite a massive search and rescue mission, has not been found.
The U.S. spy plane, after the "bump" then made an emergency landing on China's Hainan Island without permission.
China says the U.S. plane deliberately rammed the Chinese fighter jet and has demanded a full apology for the incident before it will consider releasing the plane or the crew.
The United States has expressed "regret" over the loss of the Chinese pilot but has insisted it will not apologize.
"Regrettably, the U.S. statement on this incident so far is unacceptable to the Chinese side, and the Chinese people have found it most dissatisfying," Qian Qichen, China's top foreign policy official, wrote in a letter delivered to Secretary of State Colin Powell Friday, and made public today by the official New China News Agency.
Qian demanded Washington apologize to the Chinese people and said this was of "utmost importance in solving the problem," the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.
Qian said the U.S. should take responsibility and offer an explanation. Both sides should hold talks on how to prevent similar incidents. And in the meantime, talks could continue on how to deal with the aftermath of the incident.
Qian also said he hoped the incident would not damage China-U.S. relations, Xinhua said.
Meanwhile, the wife of missing Chinese pilot, Wang Wei, arrived in Beijing for medical treatment after an emotional collapse she suffered after her husband disappeared, the Beijing Youth Daily said.
Yuan Guoqin, Wang's wife, sent a letter condemning the incident to U.S. President George W. Bush, calling him a "coward" for refusing to apologize.
The Chinese press also stepped up verbal attacks on the United States, blaming Washington for the incident and criticizing the Bush administration for its plan to build a missile defense shield, weapons sales to Taiwan and criticism of China's human rights record.
In China, public anger is still running high.
In response to the incident, Powell called it "tragic" and gave no hint that his country should apologize, news agencies reported.
U.S. National Security spokeswoman Mary Ellen Countryman said in Washington that access to the crew and crippled plane would provide key details on the circumstances of the collision.
"We can't know with precision what happened up there until we are able to speak to the other witnesses to that, and that is our crew members.
"It would also be helpful to get access to the plane and any recording equipment," she said.
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