Response to U.S. Navy Plane Damaged in Minor Collision With Chinese Fightergreenspun.com : LUSENET : Grassroots Information Coordination Center (GICC) : One Thread |
China Protests Against U.S. Over Military Plane Issue
BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhuanet)-- China has made solemn representations with and protested against the U.S. side on U.S.
military plane's bumping into and damaging a Chinese fighter jet
over the South China Sea Sunday, according to the Chinese Foreign
Ministry.
Assistant Foreign Minister Zhou Wenzhong made the representations and protests during a meeting with U.S. Ambassador
to China Joseph Prueher Sunday night.
Sunday morning, a U.S. military surveillance plane approached
China's airspace south-east of the island province of Hainan, and
two Chinese military jets scrambled to track it.
At 9:07 a.m., 104 km south-east of Hainan Island, the U.S.
plane suddenly turned towards the Chinese jets, resulting in its
bumping into and damaging, and crashing one of the two Chinese jet.
The Chinese side is very much concerned about the missing
Chinese pilot from the crashed jet, and is busy searching for his
whereabouts. Without permission from the Chinese side, the U.S.
surveillance plane intruded into China's airspace and made an
emergency landing at Lingshui Airport on Hainan Island at 9:33 a.m.
Zhou pointed out that it was normal and in accordance with
international practice for Chinese military jets to track the U.S.
surveillance plane over China's water areas.
The direct cause of the damage and crash of the Chinese jet was
that the U.S. plane suddenly veered into the Chinese jet, which
was against flight rule. Therefore, the U.S. side should bear all
the responsibility arising therefrom, Zhou said.
He noted that the Chinese people are demanding an explanation
from the U.S. on the following questions -- Why the U.S. military
plane approached to a place so close to China? Why the U.S. plane
took a sudden turn, then bumped into and damaged the Chinese jet?
Zhou reiterated that the U.S plane's intrusion into China's
airspace and its emergency landing without permission from the
Chinese side had constituted a gross violation against China's
national sovereignty.
China reserves its right to further negotiate with the U.S.
side on both the losses resulted from the incident, and the U.S.
plane's intrusion into China's airspace and landing at Chinese
airport without permission, Zhou said.
According to the Foreign Ministry, Chinese Ambassador to the U.
S. Yang Jiechi met with relevant officials from the U.S. Department of State the same day and made solemn representations
and protests to the U.S. side over the issue.Xinhua
-- spider (spider0@usa.net), April 02, 2001