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Diplomatic obstacles expected at U.S.-China talks
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. and Chinese diplomats are expected to have a tough time finding common ground at the upcoming meeting in Beijing. 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. An eight-member U.S. delegation is to meet Wednesday in Beijing with Chinese officials to discuss issues raised by the April 1 collision between a U.S. surveillance aircraft and a Chinese fighter shadowing it over the South China Sea.
"I don't think that either nation wants to have a repeat of an incident like this, and that means flying differently," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Monday. But China's state-controlled media said the same day that the United States was wrong to send its surveillance plane flying so close to China in the first place. One official editorial said that the U.S. surveillance aircraft was flying inside an area China claims as an "exclusive economic zone," that stretches from a group of islands in the South China Sea. Raw nerves all aroundThe American plane made an emergency landing on China's Hainan Island, where the crew was held for 11 days by Chinese authorities. The 24 fliers were released Wednesday after U.S. officials said they were "very sorry" for the loss of a Chinese pilot in the collision. China called off the search for its missing pilot on Saturday, with state news outlets eulogizing Wang as a "revolutionary martyr." Chinese observers say the surveillance flights aggravate Beijing by rubbing its nose in U.S. military strength. "It's part of their containment policy towards China," said Shen Jiru, an analyst at China's Academy of Social Sciences. "They want to be ready for a war with China over Taiwan. This is Cold War logic. They have spy satellites. Why do they have to send planes so close?" U.S. officials plan to explain Wednesday their view of how the accident took place, discuss how to avoid future collisions and seek to get the U.S. plane returned. Fleischer said those matters need to be discussed in a "forthright fashion." The standoff has left raw nerves on both sides. Fleischer said the U.S. delegation will ask "tough questions" about China's policy of intercepting the routine intelligence-gathering flights over international waters. The U.S. blames Chinese pilot Wang Wei's aggressive tactics for the incident. The reconnaissance plane's crew has said Wang made two extremely close passes alongside the EP-3 Aries II before the collision occurred. China has called for an end to U.S. surveillance flights off its coast, but U.S. officials say the missions are necessary for national security. "The United States will always reserve the right to operate over international waters and international airspace to protect the needs of our neighbors, promote regional stability and secure peace," Fleischer said. U.S. authorities had complained before about China's aggressive tactics in shadowing U.S. surveillance flights, and since the crew's return, Bush administration officials have pressed their case that Wang was responsible for the incident. 'I thought ... he just killed us'The pilot of the Navy plane told CNN on Monday he "wouldn't change a thing" about how he handled the collision. Lt. Shane Osborn said his four-engine turboprop, which Navy crews describe as a "flying pig," dropped from 22,500 feet to 15,000 feet after the collision before it leveled off. "Definitely, I thought on the initial impact that he just killed us," Osborn said. Added Osborn's co-pilot, Lt. j.g. Richard Vignery: "We all thought we weren't going to make it through." Osborn and another crewman rejected the Chinese account that the U.S. plane was at fault in the collision. Lt. Patrick Honeck said the Chinese pilot was so close -- within three feet to five feet of the U.S. plane -- that he could see him salute and make gestures for the U.S. plane to leave the area. "They had joined up on us twice, and it was the third time that the impact happened," Osborn said. "The two prior join-ups were within three to five feet, and Lt. Honeck was looking out the window giving me updates as best as he could, and we knew that this was an unusual type of intercept."
Washington considers next moveSome members of Congress are urging sanctions against China over the incident, suggesting that the U.S. move to block Beijing's bid for the 2008 Olympic Games or opposition to further free trade agreements. But some warn that it is Washington that stands to lose from isolating a rapidly growing China. Others are urging President 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. Fleischer said Wednesday's meeting will be an early gauge of how U.S.-China ties will hold up after the incident off Hainan. "Both nations have to make a determined choice about the future of their relations," Fleischer said. "And the first evidence of those choices will come in that meeting on Wednesday, and the president wants to hear what the Chinese have to say." CNN Beijing Bureau Chief Rebecca MacKinnon and White House Correspondent Kelly Wallace and CNN.com Writer Matt Smith contributed to this report. RELATED STORIES: Members of Congress consider slapping sanctions on China RELATED SITES:
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