Ariz Republic

U.S. Scoffs at Chinese Bill for Spy Plane Incident

Reuters Jul. 06, 2001 14:46

WASHINGTON - China has sent the United States a $1 million bill for expenses it says it incurred while holding an $80 million U.S. spy plane for about two months before returning it in pieces, a senior State Department official said on Friday.

``It's nice to know they have a sense of humor,'' he said on condition of anonymity, scoffing at the scale of Beijing's charge for personnel costs and repatriating the aircraft.

The EP-3 plane made an emergency landing on Hainan island on April 1 after it collided with a Chinese jet that was shadowing it near China's coast in what the United States says was international airspace.

Chinese authorities held the plane's 24-member crew for questioning for 11 days after the incident, which resulted in the death of the Chinese pilot but did not seriously hurt any of the U.S. air crew.

The episode roiled relations between the two countries just after President Bush came to office.

The United States originally had intended to repair the plane and fly it out, but China said allowing the plane to fly off Hainan would be a national humiliation.

Beijing eventually agreed to let the plane be dismantled and flown out.

The return of the fuselage and other parts of the plane to a Georgia air base July 5 -- on a Russian Antonov cargo aircraft -- marked an improvement in ties.

But the bill clearly left a bad taste in the mouth of U.S. diplomacy.

The official said the United States, which is currently assessing whether the EP-3 can be returned to service, would respond in kind, apparently by sending a hefty bill back.

``They have presented us with what we would consider to be somewhat exaggerated charges,'' he said.

Asked if the U.S. side had also sent a bill, he replied, ''No,'' but added, ``We'll get back to them in the same spirit that they got back to us.''

Asked what this was, he replied flatly, ``Exaggerated.''

The Naval Air Systems Command has estimated structural repairs to the aircraft would take eight to 12 months. After that, the plane will be flown to Waco, Texas, for an electronic systems upgrade.

U.S. security personnel will also examine the plane, which was loaded with surveillance equipment, to try to determine what data the Chinese may have obtained.

-- Anonymous, July 06, 2001