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Clock ticks down to Beijing talks
BEIJING, China -- U.S. and Chinese officials are in the final stages of preparations before they sit down in Beijing to discuss the fallout of the April 1 collision of a U.S. Navy surveillance plane and Chinese fighter jet. American officials are expected to seek the return of the American aircraft, which remains crippled on China's Hainan Island, while China is expected to reiterate its demand that reconnaissance flights off its coast stop.
U.S. Ambassador to China Joseph Prueher told reporters in Beijing the meeting would begin at 3 pm (0800 GMT). U.S. President George W. Bush has picked Clark Randt Jr., a Yale classmate and Hong Kong businessman, to succeed Joseph Prueher as the U.S. ambassador to Beijing, an administration official told CNN Tuesday. Prueher, who played a central role in securing the release last week of the 24 U.S. crew members detained in China, was appointed by former President Clinton in 1999 and the Bush administration had previously made it known that he would be replaced. A senior administration official said Bush had settled on Randt and a background check was under way. An official announcement is expected soon, this official said. Both the U.S. and China have employed tough language in the hours leading up to the meeting. In Washington, the Pentagon released videotape of Chinese fighter pilots flying close to U.S. surveillance flights to buttress its claim that the Chinese pilots were flying aggressively. Chinese officials maintained their stance that the United States was to blame for the April 1 collision over the South China Sea. The Chinese F-8 fighter and its pilot, Wang Wei, have not been found since the collision. "We already noticed that some senior U.S. government officials have made irresponsible remarks," Zhang Qiyue, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said at a briefing. "They want to ignore the facts, confusing right and wrong and want to shift responsibility onto others, and we express our strong dissatisfaction with this." The U.S. crew was detained by China for 11 days after the collision, and U.S. officials believe the $80 million-plus Navy EP-3E Aries II spy plane has been exhaustively searched by Chinese authorities. "We want our airplane back, and we're going to make that point, and we would expect to get a response," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington. The United States maintains aggressive intercept practices by the Chinese pilot led to the collision. The two sides are to meet at the Foreign Ministry. "We are here to meet with the Chinese government ... to exchange information regarding the incident with our reconnaissance aircraft and that is all," said Peter Verga, the head of the eight-member U.S. delegation and deputy undersecretary of defense for policy support, on arriving at the airport. Key pointsRear Adm. Craig Quigley, a Pentagon spokesman, outlined the key points to be covered at the meeting. "They are the causes of the accident; possible recommendations as to how to preclude such accidents from taking place in the future; a discussion of the plan for the prompt return of our aircraft, of our EP-3; and we understand that the Chinese wish to discuss the continuation of surveillance and reconnaissance flights. That is the agenda," he said at a Pentagon briefing. Tuesday afternoon, the Pentagon released additional videotapes showing Chinese pilots flying close to U.S. surveillance flights. The tapes were shot in December and January, Pentagon officials said. As the clock ticks down to the negotiations in Beijing, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the Chinese can expect "tough questions" from the U.S. delegation, and the U.S. side will detail its view that the Chinese are to blame for the accident. Washington wants Chinese fighter pilots to back off from U.S. surveillance flights while Beijing wants those U.S. spy planes to back off from what it considers its sovereign air space. "We'll see what they are prepared to address and draw our own conclusions about how they intend to proceed with this relationship," Boucher said. The Chinese appeared to put the burden of resolving the remaining differences on the United States. "China is trying to solve this incident in a calm manner," Zhang said. "The development of Sino-U.S. relations needs efforts from both sides, so the United States should take responsible, effective measures to avoid such things happening again and it should not do anything that may harm (the) Sino-U.S. relationship." Some members of U.S. Congress are urging sanctions against China over the incident, suggesting that the United States move to block Beijing's bid for the 2008 Olympic Games or oppose further free trade agreements. But some warn that it is Washington that stands to lose from isolating a rapidly growing China.
Others are urging Bush to approve the sale of destroyers equipped with the Aegis advanced air defense radar system to Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province. Meanwhile, U.S. officials have been pressing for resolutions critical of China's human rights record at a United Nations Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. Meanwhile, top U.S. military officials have recommended that spy flights should not resume immediately off China's southern coast, scene of the mid-air collision that has severely strained bilateral relations, defense officials said on Tuesday. The officials, who asked not to be identified, said the Pentagon Joint Chiefs of Staff, who head the military services, had recommended a phased approach under which spy flights would resume first off China's eastern coast and only later off the sensitive southern coast. The recommendation was made to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who had made no final submission to Bush yet, the officials said. Sensitivity"There is sensitivity with the airplane down south," said one of the officials. "What they are talking about is a measured approach to give the Chinese a chance to come to grips with international law." "At the end of the day, this is a diplomatic problem," said another official. ABC News in the U.S. reported on Tuesday it had learned the Joint Chiefs would recommend to the president that there be a phased approach to resuming the flights. ABC said the phased approach called for the surveillance flights to initially resume along the eastern coast of China where it said there had not been very aggressive intercepts. If there were no problems, the surveillance flights would then resume around the Hainan Island area, the network said. ABC said the Joint Chiefs were recommending armed fighter escorts for the surveillance flights in the event they encountered problems. Pentagon spokesman Navy Rear Adm. Craig Quigley said on Tuesday aggressive flying among Chinese pilots appeared to be more of an issue around the air bases on Hainan Island than it was to the north and along the east coast of China. "The squadrons that come out to do intercepts to the east coast of China, do not appear to have the same aggressive flying style as those along the south coast," Quigley told reporters at a Pentagon briefing. RELATED STORIES:
Diplomatic obstacles expected at U.S.-China talks RELATED SITES:
U.S. Navy factfile: The EP-3 |
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