US-China relations suffered a serious blow yesterday when a US spy plane crashed after a collision with a Chinese aircraft over the South China Sea. The two countries have blamed each other.
China last night accused the US EP-3 maritime patrol aircraft of ramming one of its fighters in mid-air. The aircraft, with 24 crew on board, made an emergency landing on China's southern island of Hainan without permission.
But the head of the US Pacific Command, Admiral Dennis Blair, said it was probably an accident caused by the fighter bumping into the US plane.
"If I had to guess right now, I would say it's an accident, it's not a normal practice to play bumper cars in the air, it's too dangerous for everybody," Admiral Blair told a news conference in Hawaii.
According to Chinese state radio early today a rescue operation was under way for the pilot of the Chinese aircraft.
The US is demanding the immediate release of the crew and the aircraft, which has sensitive surveillance equipment.
In a strongly worded statement the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it had lodged "a solemn representation and protest" and reserved the right to seek damages. It said there would be further "representations" over the plane entering Chinese airspace and landing without permission.
According to the US navy version of the incident, one of its EP-3 maritime patrol aircraft was on a routine surveillance mission in international air space when there was contact between it and one of two Chinese F-8 fighters on an interception mission.
According to China, the US plane "suddenly veered" tow ards the Chinese aircraft 60 miles south of Hainan Island. It said its aircraft was engaged in "normal pursuit and monitoring activities of the US military surveillance plane near China's coast" at the time.
"The nose and left wing of the US plane hit the Chinese plane and caused it to crash," the statement said.
While a statement from the China Foreign Ministry said it was making "proper arrangements" for the 24 US crew, it did not say when it would be releasing the aircraft and crew.
The US ambassador to China, Admiral Joseph Prueher, met China's vice foreign minister to try to resolve the issue. US diplomats were travelling to Hainan to try to get access to the crew.
The incident came at a delicate moment for Sino-US relations as the new Bush administration attempts to formulate its approach towards China.
President George W. Bush, who was at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, had been informed of the crash.
The EP-3 is a four-engine, propeller-driven reconnaissance aircraft that uses electronic surveillance equipment to eavesdrop on ships and surrounding areas.
China claims sovereignty over the entire South China Sea, including islands also claimed wholly or partly by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
The US officially takes no position on the territorial disputes, but insists freedom of navigation must be maintained in the important sea route.
Admiral Blair said US military officials had in recent months protested to their Chinese counterparts that their flight interceptions were being conducted in an unsafe manner.
"Chinese fighters intercepted the aircraft and one of them bumped into the wing of the EP3 aircraft," Admiral Blair said. "The intercepts by Chinese fighters over the past couple of months have become more aggressive, to the point that we felt that they were endangering the safety of Chinese and American aircraft."
Whether the incident does serious damage may depend on how quickly Beijing returns the crew and plane. "A lot depends on what the Chinese do in the next couple of days," said Mr Bates Gill, head of the Center for Northeast Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution.
He said the longer the crew is held, the more US concerns will grow and the more Mr Bush will come under domestic pressure to view China in a "threatening way".
Leading members of the US Congress said on Sunday called for the incident to be resolved quickly and decisively by the Bush administration.
Republican Senator Charles Hagel from Nebraska described it as a "serious matter".
Another Republican, Senator John McCain, a former fighter pilot who was shot down and held captive in Vietnam, said the first thing China should do is promise the US it would not enter the EP-3 surveillance aircraft to assess sophisticated intelligence equipment.
"That the airplane should not be inspected or entered by any Chinese authorities because of the nature of the equipment on board," Mr McCain said. "I think that's the first major assurance we need from the Chinese."
Additional reporting -(Reuters)