BBC Monday, 2 April, 2001, 21:28 GMT 22:28 UK

China 'gives US' spy crew access

China has given the go-ahead for American officials to visit the crew of a US spy plane forced to land in southern China last Sunday, American officials say.

"The Chinese have told us... that we will have access to our people tomorrow," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on Monday.

The Chinese offer falls well short of the demand made by President Bush a little earlier on Monday for "immediate access by our embassy personnel to our crew members".

And there is no sign that it includes access to the plane, which was forced to land at a military base on the island of Hainan after a collision with a Chinese fighter plane.

The access dispute has placed further pressure on relations between Washington and Beijing, which have already been soured by a possible sale of US arms to Taiwan and other contentious issues.

Bush 'troubled'

Mr Bush looked grim as he spoke briefly to journalists at the White House.

He said he was "troubled by the lack of a timely Chinese response" to US requests for access to the 24-crew members.

Chinese officials have told Washington that the crew are all safe.

And Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan, speaking in Paris, said he hoped "an adequate solution can be found".

The EP-3 surveillance plane was involved in a mid-air collision with a Chinese fighter which is still missing - both sides blame each other for the incident.

'Inconsistent practice'

Mr Bush warned China that it was "inconsistent with diplomatic practice" to refuse access.

He was speaking after summoning Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and National Security Advisor Condaleessa Rice to join him in a meeting with Secretary of State, Colin Powell.

Earlier, the US ambassador to Beijing, Joseph Prueher, said that it was "inexplicable and inexcusable" to deny access.

The Americans say the aircraft is sovereign US territory and should not be boarded by Chinese officials.

The plane is packed with sensitive monitoring equipment. The Associated Press news agency says a US official told it that, under standard procedure, the crew should have destroyed as much of the equipment as possible.

Defence analyst Paul Beaver of the Jane's Information Group said it would be catastrophic for the US "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".

Strong words

The commander of the US Pacific military forces rejected Beijing's claim that the American plane rammed the Chinese jet on Sunday and caused it to crash.

Admiral Dennis Blair said the Chinese planes were at fault and that the US had had to speak to Beijing recently about its "more aggressive" tactics in intercepting US planes.

None of the American crew was hurt, but rescue parties are searching for the Chinese pilot.

Analysts have said Beijing's statements over the collision are among the strongest heard for almost two years and say the standoff could be a long one.

'Proper arrangements'

China's Foreign Ministry has said that "proper arrangements" had been made for the crew, but did not say where they were.

The ministry has put all the blame on the US aircraft for causing the collision.

It said it had lodged a protest with US authorities and reserved the right to seek damages.

Experts say run-ins between Chinese and US aircraft are quite common along the Chinese coast, although it was the first time an aircraft had made an emergency landing.

It comes at a time when Sino-American relations are under increasing strain.

US plans to sell arms to Taiwan, as well as Washington's strategy of developing a national missile shield - the so-called "son of star wars" - are particularly contentious issues.

-- Anonymous, April 02, 2001