U.S. prepares to see crew of crashed spy plane
| • | Navy releases names of crew members |
Advertiser Staff and Wire Reports
HAIKOU, China — U.S. officials say they expect to gain access today to the 24 crew members of an American surveillance plane that went down on Chinese territory over the weekend.
Associated Press
The standoff remained tense as China refused to let U.S. officials contact the crew and the Bush administration tried to defuse its first foreign policy crisis.
About 100 people protested outside the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong yesterday, blaming the United States for the collision.
Military authorities at the U.S. Pacific Command headquarters at Camp H.M. Smith in 'Aiea were in a wait-and-see mode last night, with indications that China was about to allow U.S. diplomats access to the crew.
"In a word, we will have nothing to report until we hear from the crew members — that's when things will start breaking," said Lt. Cmdr. Sean Kelly, spokesman for Adm. Dennis C. Blair, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command (CINCPAC).
That initial contact was expected to come as early as midnight last night Hawai'i time, Kelly said. One of the first things commanders want to know is whether the crew was able to destroy sensitive intelligence equipment and data, Kelly said.
"We will be finding out what destruction measures the crew took regarding the classified gear on board," he said.
The first contact with the crew, Kelly said, will probably be diplomatic rather than military, with a diplomatic team from Beijing and the U.S. Consul General from Kwangjo on Hainan Island yesterday attempting to see the crew.
Administration officials in Washington said they didn't know where the crew was held, but that China promised access today. The United States has not heard from the Americans since their emergency landing Sunday on the Chinese island of Hainan.
U.S. diplomats arrived on Hainan soon after the Navy plane landed.
President Bush demanded the immediate release of the crew and plane.
"I'm troubled by the lack of a timely Chinese response to this request for access," Bush said yesterday.
The plane apparently collided with one of two Chinese F-8 fighter jets trying to intercept it. The Chinese jet and its pilot are missing.
In Hong Kong, about 100 people protested outside the U.S. Consulate, demanding 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."
There were signs, however, that Bush was trying to move away from a crisis that could have major repercussions on U.S.-China relations.
U.S. officials avoided harsh condemnations of China. And the Pentagon said three U.S. warships initially stationed in the region were ordered out.
U.S. officials said they assume Chinese soldiers have boarded the plane, which is loaded with high-tech surveillance gear. U.S. military officials said the last communication received from the plane was that armed Chinese soldiers were approaching the aircraft.
"I anticipate that they will get on the plane," CIA Director George Tenet said yesterday. "If we were in a similar situation, we'd probably be on that plane, too."
China will gain a rare intelligence bonanza if the crewmembers of a Navy EP-3 surveillance airplane failed to destroy sensitive technologies before they fell into Chinese hands, military experts say.
"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 Defense Weekly. "This is one of the crown jewels of naval intelligence. It's some of the most sophisticated electronic warfare equipment available anywhere."
The EP-3 is a long-range reconnaissance airplane that monitors electronic signals on land, including radar transmissions and other communications. It is the Navy's main electronic intelligence-gathering aircraft.
The highly sensitive reconnaissance flights enable the United States to get a better picture of military activity in the region by gathering radar signals and other communications data.
It is not unusual for nations that detect surveillance aircraft near their borders to send fighter "interceptors" to shadow the planes as they gather data. It's also common practice for the surveillance airplanes and the fighters shadowing them to photograph one another. But rarely do the two endanger one another.
The Chinese F-8 plunged into the ocean while the EP-3 issued an emergency "Mayday" call and landed on Hainan, the nearest airstrip.
The Navy regularly trains for in-flight emergencies with the EP-3, including the capture of the airplane. In such cases, the crew's job is to destroy sensitive equipment and information.
Beaver said the EP-3 is important to the Chinese in two ways: It could allow them access to ultra-modern technology, and it could give them a window into how the U.S. analyzes intercepted signals.
One possible scenario, Beaver said, is that China would use captured technology as leverage with the Bush administration by threatening to sell it to others if it doesn't win some concession.
