Posted at 7:05 p.m., Monday, April 2, 2001

Bush demands access to crew, China says wait

Associated Press

LINGSHUI, China – China kept a U.S. spy plane and its crew at a military base on a Chinese island on Tuesday Chiina time, denying them contact with American officials after a collision with a Chinese warplane that created a tense Cold War-style standoff.

U.S. President George W. Bush demanded today that China arrange the "prompt and safe return" of the 24 American crew members and their aircraft, packed with sophisticated surveillance technology.

"Failure of the Chinese government to react promptly to our request is inconsistent with standard diplomatic practice," Bush said in a sombre statement at the White House.

In Paris, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said he hoped the dispute wouldn't strain U.S.-Chinese relations.

"The American side has explained time and again to our ambassador that this incident will not influence the general interests between China and the United States," Tang said.

The U.S. ambassador to China, however, complained that top officials weren't involved in diplomatic contacts.

The spy plane crew, in one of its last communications from the plane, told U.S. authorities the aircraft was being boarded by the Chinese, a senior American official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

But Mary Ellen Countryman, a White House spokeswoman, added: "We have no confirmation that they boarded the plane."

As a result, U.S. officials had no information on the extent to which the plane, laden with high-tech surveillance equipment, might have been searched. The United States considers the aircraft sovereign U.S. territory and not subject to search or seizure.

Meanwhile, few Chinese seemed to doubt the official explanation blaming the U.S. plane. Comments posted on Web sites said Beijing should hold the aircraft and its crew as a bargaining chip to extract U.S. concessions or dissect the plane to learn its high-tech secrets.

In Hong Kong, about 100 people protested outside the U.S. Consulate. They demanded that U.S. diplomats come out to accept a petition, and shouted insults when they didn't.

"It's not the first time the U.S. has invaded Chinese territory," said Yau May-kwong, 50, a shipping container operator. "It's a barbaric act."

The emergency landing of the turbo-prop EP-3 surveillance plane on Hainan island after it collided with a Chinese jet fighter early Sunday brought a new chill to already frosty U.S.-Chinese relations. It happened as Bush was nearing a decision on an arms sale package for Taiwan that Beijing has opposed.

In London, a military expert said China could sell any information it obtained to Russia, giving them access to "one of the most sophisticated intelligence-gathering airplanes in the world."

"It's catastrophic for the U.S. if the Chinese have managed to gain access to the aircraft and if they've managed to obtain access to the computers and the hard disks," said Paul Beaver of Jane's Information Group, publisher of the respected Jane's Defence Weekly.

Despite U.S. demands for immediate contact, China indicated that access to the crew and plane would not be granted before Tuesday night China time, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

"We find it very troubling about the lack of speed," McClellan said.

As tensions grew, the United States decided to keep three navy destroyers in the vicinity of Hainan island. The United States has sent three diplomats to the island in hopes of meeting with the crew.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said standard procedure would call for the EP-3 crew to destroy as much of the plane's sensitive equipment as possible.

The U.S. military says its plane was on a routine surveillance flight when two Chinese F-8 fighters intercepted it Sunday morning.

The EP-3 collided with one of the fighters about 100 kilometres southeast of Hainan. China blamed the collision on the U.S. plane.

The Chinese fighter that collided with the American plane crashed into the sea and the pilot was missing. A second fighter returned safely.

The United States said it offered to help China in locating its missing aircraft and pilot, but the offer drew no response from Beijing.

The episode has created a serious diplomatic situation for both countries.

Anti-American sentiment in China still remains high two years after the bombing by an American warplane of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

Bush decided not to telephone Chinese President Jiang Zemin today, not wanting to suggest the White House was treating the situation as a crisis.