"Dubya" vs. China:
The Plane Crash That Created a Face-Off
by Lina Zhou, Writing Editor

On April 1, 2001, a US EP-3 marine surveillance aircraft was conducting a reconnaissance mission in the South China Sea when two People's Liberation Army F-8 fighters intercepted the aircraft, ordering it to leave Chinese airspace. The EP-3 contended that it was in international airspace. It is reported the Chinese planes then continued to fly closer to the EP-3 to force it to change course, until eventually one Chinese fighter jet collided with the EP-3. The EP-3 suffered significant damage to 2 of its 4 propellers as well as its nose cone and was forced to make an emergency landing at a Chinese military base on the island of Hainan. The F-8 along with its pilot, Wang Wei, are still reported missing.

The EP-3 and its 24-person crew were subsequently detained at the Lingshui military base, much to the aggravation of the Bush administration. The People's Republic of China made adamant claims that the collision was caused by a deliberate ramming by the EP-3, a fact that Washington vigorously denied. The PRC insisted that the US apologize for having violated Chinese airspace and territorial sovereignty by landing on Hainan without permission. Furthermore, President Jiang Zemin demanded that the US cease all reconnaissance flights to China and its territories. In response, the Bush administration refused to make an official apology and demanded that the plane and crew be returned as soon as possible.

After eleven days of intense activity within the cabinets of both governments and what seemed like standstill negotiations, in which neither party was willing to concede or accept some responsibility for the tragic incident, an agreement was finally reached. On April 12th, the Chinese government released the 24-member crew, consisting of twenty-one men and three women, from its custody. The decision to release the crew came after China's foreign minister, Tang Jiaxuan, received a letter from Secretary of State, Colin Powell, which stated that "President Bush [was] very concerned about [the] missing pilot" and that the US "[was] very sorry" for its airspace incursion. The Chinese realized this missive was the closest to an official apology the US would give and decided to stop its initial demand for an end to all future US reconnaissance missions. This carefully crafted letter allowed both sides to retain their dignity and pride in front of their country and at the same time was conciliatory enough for both parties to resolve the diplomatic impasse.

Upon their release and trip home, the crew stopped at the Hickam Air Force base in Hawaii for an intensive debriefing session by the Navy. As they stepped down from the Continental Airlines plane, they were met with a cacophony of applause and cheers from fellow servicemen and family members. They are being hailed as heroes who made the best possible choices in an emergency situation. Defense Secretary, Donald H. Rumsfield, congratulated the crew on a job well done, stating that "Throughout [their] days in detention, [they] conducted [themselves] with honor and professionalism. [They] put [their] lives at risk in the service of the citizens of a grateful nation, so they can live their lives in peace and freedom."

Now that the crew is safe and sound upon home soil, the White House has done exactly what is typical of a government accountable to the people-it has retracted its "apology" by blaming the incident on the Chinese and wiping themselves of both responsibility and accountability. This action has obviously upset and angered the Chinese government, perhaps explaining their less than full cooperation in the negotiations that are currently being held, with regards to returning the captured plane back to the US. The EP-3 is a state of the art military surveillance plane that contains sensitive electronics, capable of picking up all sorts of electromagnetic data from telephone calls, faxes, and radio transmissions to name a few. The Pentagon fears that if the PRC gain access to this equipment, they will be able to significantly advance their security against future US surveillance.

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