Plane Collision: U.S., China plan joint probe

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, APRIL 7. The United States and China are said to be working on the precise details of resolving the stand-off involving the American spy plane now on the ground in Hainan Island along with a crew of 24. The feeling is that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The President, Mr. George W. Bush, and his Chinese counterpart, Mr. Jiang Zemin - through their senior officials - are said to be working on the draft of a letter that will be basis of a resolution. Among other things Washington and Beijing are thinking of having a Joint Commission to get into the finer aspects of the dispute that too place over the South China Seas a week ago.

The draft that is being discussed will, according to media reports, talk about the American and Chinese perceptions of what took place last Saturday along with the specific outlines for the release of the crew. Interestingly, few in the Bush administration are actually talking about the surveillance plan per se - that is in its ``immediate'' return.

One thinking has been that the 24-person crew could be released sometime this weekend itself; but the more guarded take the position that speculation on this subject is not a wise thing for last-minute complications have cropped up on earlier occasions. The thinking is that the letter will be signed by the American Ambassador to China, Mr. Joseph Prueher, and not by the President. But Mr. Bush has apparently told senior officials that he would like to see the final draft for approval of language.

On Friday, the Secretary of State, Gen. Colin Powell, said the United States and China were exchanging ``rather precise ideas'' for the release of the crew. The administration talked about the second meeting between American diplomats based in China and the detained crew and the possibility of a third on Saturday. Later, the State Department also released a picture of all the crew members seated in a room - another ``gesture'' on the part of China. The President, who by and large, has been restrained through the last several days, said there are intense negotiations going on with the Chinese and that progress is being made.

The President spoke with Brig. Gen. Neal Sealock, the U.S. Defence Attache in Beijing who saw the crew members and the White House spokesman said the President was ``very heartened'' to hear that the crew was in good condition. The Chinese Ambassador to the United States, Mr. Yang Jiechi, had another meeting with the Deputy Secretary of State, Mr. Richard Armitage, at the State Department on Friday. The meeting has been called as ``part of our continuing diplomatic exchanges'' by the State Department spokesman, Mr. Richard Boucher. The ``exchanges'' will go on over the weekend in Washington and in Beijing.

What is likely to emerge is a situation in which both sides can claim victory and get out of the impasse. The Chinese, for instance, will claim that the Americans, by agreeing to an investigation, have conceded wrongdoing on their parts. The Bush administration will then have the opportunity to say that it offered no apology and merely expressions of regret for the loss of the Chinese pilot and aircraft.

The worrisome part of the ongoing stand-off is not the Bush administration upping the ante; rather in its hand being forced by law makers on Capitol Hill who are simply appalled at what has been going on in the last one week. Then there is also the feeling that if this had been the Clinton administration, the reactions from Capitol Hill would have been much worse.

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Section  : International
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