China and the US said yesterday that they had reached an agreement on the release of the 24 detained crew members of a US spy plane.
China said it would free the crew -- who have been at the center of an 11-day-old Sino-American standoff -- on humanitarian grounds once the "relevant procedures" had been completed.
US President George W. Bush, expressing sorrow for the death of a Chinese fighter pilot in the April 1 collision with the spy plane over the South China Sea, said plans were under way to bring home the crew from Hainan island as soon as possible.
"This morning the Chinese government assured our American ambassador that the crew would leave promptly," Bush said in a brief statement at the White House. "We are working on arrangements to pick them up and to bring them home."
China's Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan (
China's Foreign Ministry said the 24 crew, which includes three women, would be freed together, and that this should not take long if Washington "is cooperative enough" in carrying out what it called the "relevant procedures."
US Ambassador Joseph Prueher handed Tang the letter, which twice used the words "very sorry" but did not actually apologize for the collision.
"As the US government has already said `very sorry' to the Chinese people, the Chinese government has, out of humanitarian considerations, decided to allow the crew members to leave China after completing the necessary procedures," Tang said.
Wang Wei (
"Both President Bush and Secretary of State [Colin] Powell have expressed their sincere regret over your missing pilot and aircraft," read Prueher's letter.
"Please convey to the Chinese people and to the family of pilot Wang Wei that we are very sorry for their loss," it said.
"We are very sorry the entering of China's airspace and the landing did not have verbal clearance," it added. Earlier, China's state-run media prepared the angry nation for a resolution which could be presented as the apology from the US that Beijing had demanded. Washington has refused to apologize for the collision, arguing that it was not the spy plane's fault.
Prueher's letter described what happened as being "still unclear" and said the two sides would meet on April 18 to discuss the causes of the incident and other related issues.
China's state television earlier told the nation of 1.3 billion people that US Secretary of State Powell had expressed "regret" and "sorrow" for the E-P3 spy plane's incursion into Chinese airspace after the collision.
US officials complained key context had been edited out of the report, but a Western diplomat said that did not matter. "The fact that they twisted his words a bit is not the point. The point is they are setting the scene for something to happen," the diplomat added.
US officials in Washington said earlier that the letter had been thrashed out in negotiations between the two sides. "What the Chinese will choose to characterize as an apology, we would probably choose to characterize as an expression of regret or sorrow," one senior administration official said.
The wording of the letter has already been interpreted in different ways by the two sides.
According to a Chinese-language copy of the letter released by the US Embassy, it doesn't use the term that China had insisted on -- "daoqian" (道歉) -- a formal apology that accepts blame.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman, Sun Yuxi (
However, that term doesn't appear in the Chinese-language version of the letter released by the embassy. It says Bush was "feichang baoqian" (
US officials had resisted using the term "daoqian." Linguists have suggested that could have carried legal or diplomatic obligations, such as acquiescing to demands by China to stop surveillance flights near its coast. Bush insisted the collision was an accident, and both governments agreed that it occurred in international airspace.
Meanwhile, Chinese media yesterday also appeared to be preparing the nation for an announcement of the death of Wang. The search for him and the grief of his family has dominated media reports for days.
In Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed an end to the standoff. "We are happy for the 24 crew members who will soon be released," foreign ministry spokeswoman Catherine Chang (張小月) said by telephone.
The Letter that secured the crew's release
The following is the text of the letter released by the White House from US Ambassador Joseph Prueher to Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Tang Jiaxuan.
Dear Mr Minister:
On behalf of the United States Government, I now outline steps to resolve this issue.
Both President Bush and Secretary of State Powell have expressed their sincere regret over your missing pilot and aircraft. Please convey to the Chinese people and to the family of pilot Wang Wei that we are very sorry for their loss.
Although the full picture of what transpired is still unclear, according to our information, our severely crippled aircraft made an emergency landing after following international emergency procedures. We are very sorry the entering of China's airspace and the landing did not have verbal clearance, but very pleased the crew landed safely. We appreciate China's efforts to see to the well-being of our crew.
In view of the tragic incident and based on my discussions with your representative, we have agreed to the following actions:
Both sides agree to hold a meeting to discuss the incident. My government understands and expects that our aircrew will be permitted to depart China as soon as possible.
The meeting would start April 18, 2001.
The meeting agenda would include discussion of the causes of the incident, possible recommendations whereby such collisions could be avoided in the future, development of a plan for prompt return of the EP-3 aircraft, and other related issues. We acknowledge your government's intention to raise US reconnaissance missions near China in the meeting.
Sincerely,
Joseph W. Prueher
source: ap
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
PEACEFUL RESOLUTION: A statement issued following a meeting between Australia and Britain reiterated support for Taiwan and opposition to change in the Taiwan Strait Canada should support the peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s destiny according to the will of Taiwanese, Canadian lawmakers said in a resolution marking the second anniversary of that nation’s Indo-Pacific strategy on Monday. The Canadian House of Commons committee on Canada-Chinese relations made the comment as part of 34 recommendations for the new edition of the strategy, adding that Ottawa should back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, first published in October 2022, emphasized that the region’s security, trade, human rights, democracy and environmental protection would play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s future. The strategy called for Canada to deepen
TECH CONFERENCE: Input from industry and academic experts can contribute to future policymaking across government agencies, President William Lai said Multifunctional service robots could be the next new area in which Taiwan could play a significant role, given its strengths in chip manufacturing and software design, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman and chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. “In the past two months, our customers shared a lot of their future plans with me. Artificial intelligence [AI] and AI applications were the most talked about subjects in our conversation,” Wei said in a speech at the National Science and Technology Conference in Taipei. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, counts Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Apple Inc and
LEAP FORWARD: The new tanks are ‘decades more advanced than’ the army’s current fleet and would enable it to compete with China’s tanks, a source said A shipment of 38 US-made M1A2T Abrams tanks — part of a military procurement package from the US — arrived at the Port of Taipei early yesterday. The vehicles are the first batch of 108 tanks and other items that then-US president Donald Trump announced for Taiwan in 2019. The Ministry of National Defense at the time allocated NT$40.5 billion (US$1.25 billion) for the purchase. To accommodate the arrival of the tanks, the port suspended the use of all terminals and storage area machinery from 6pm last night until 7am this morning. The tanks are expected to be deployed at the army’s training
RSS