CHINA - US completes spyplane inspection

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BBC Friday, 4 May, 2001, 14:22 GMT 15:22 UK

US completes spy plane inspection

The plane has been held since 1 April American technicians have completed their inspection of the US spy plane held on Hainan Island for more than a month.

Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Commander Terry Sutherland said "all required inspections" had been carried out with the full co-operation of the Chinese military.

The People's Liberation Army had withheld power from the inspection team for two days, but supplied it on Friday.

The four-engine EP-3 surveillance plane has been held since its mid-air collision with a Chinese fighter jet 1 April.

The news came as China stepped up its attack on US plans for a missile defence shield.

The official China Daily newspaper said the scheme appears aimed at establishing "absolute military supremacy" in the world.

Communication problems

The inspection team is expected to fly to Hawaii from Hainan on Saturday to provide a complete report on damage to the plane to the US Pacific Fleet.

On Thursday, the Pentagon said that China had not been providing electrical power for the inspection, which was needed to determine whether the plane was in a condition to be flown out of China.

Spokesman Rear Admiral Craig Quigley said the US technical requirements had been worked out with the Chinese foreign ministry, but apparently were not passed on to officials at Lingshui air base, where the plane is being held.

"As has been our experience recently, it is not at all clear that there's a good communication flow between one part of the Chinese Government to another," said Admiral Quigley.

But the Pentagon has also experienced communication problems of its own which have threatened to further complicate Sino-American relations.

In a surprise announcement on Wednesday, the US department of defence said all military ties with China had been suspended, only to retract the statement two hours later.

The Pentagon said the misunderstanding was the result of an aide's misinterpretation of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's intentions.

Hackers

On a different front, both China and the US are boosting internet security after an escalation of hacker attacks from the two countries disrupting each other's systems.

Several official Chinese websites have been defaced with pornographic material, while in the US, the Department of Labour was among those hit.

In what is being seen as a more positive development, China's US ambassador struck a conciliatory note in a speech on Thursday, reflecting on "rollercoaster" relations with Washington, but dropping the terse rhetoric of recent Sino-US clashes.

Speaking at the Washington Asia Society's annual dinner, Yang Jiechi said establishing a workable relationship, particularly on trade issues, was in both countries interests.

-- Anonymous, May 04, 2001


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