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China Protests Against US Over Military Plane Issue
Missing Spot of Chinese Pilot Near Hainan
China has made solemn representations with and protested against the US side on US military plane's bumping into and damaging a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea Sunday, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Assistant Foreign Minister Zhou Wenzhong made the representations and protests during a meeting with US Ambassador to China Joseph Prueher Sunday night.
Sunday morning, a US military surveillance plane approached China's airspace south-east of the island province of Hainan, and two Chinese military jets scrambled to track it.
At 9:07 a.m., 104 km south-east of Hainan Island, the US plane suddenly turned towards the Chinese jets, resulting in its bumping into and damaging, and crashing one of the two Chinese jet.
China Protests Against US Over Military Plane Issue
The Chinese side is very much concerned about the missing Chinese pilot from the crashed jet, and is busy searching for his whereabouts. Without permission from the Chinese side, the US surveillance plane intruded into China's airspace and made an emergency landing at Lingshui Airport on Hainan Island at 9:33 a.m.
Zhou pointed out that it was normal and in accordance with international practice for Chinese military jets to track the US surveillance plane over China's water areas.
The direct cause of the damage and crash of the Chinese jet was that the US plane suddenly veered into the Chinese jet, which was against flight rule. Therefore, the US side should bear all the responsibility arising therefrom, Zhou said.
He noted that the Chinese people are demanding an explanation from the US on the following questions -- Why the US military plane approached to a place so close to China? Why the US plane took a sudden turn, then bumped into and damaged the Chinese jet?
Zhou reiterated that the US plane's intrusion into China's airspace and its emergency landing without permission from the Chinese side had constituted a gross violation against China's national sovereignty.
China reserves its right to further negotiate with the US side on both the losses resulted from the incident, and the US plane's intrusion into China's airspace and landing at Chinese airport without permission, Zhou said.
According to the Foreign Ministry, Chinese Ambassador to the US Yang Jiechi met with relevant officials from the US Department of State the same day and made solemn representations and protests to the US side over the issue.
Searching for Missing Chinese Pilot ContinuingThe searching and rescuing efforts are intensely underway for the missing pilot of the Chinese fighter, which was bumped into and damaged by the US military surveillance plane Sunday morning, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi Monday evening.
Till 16:00 Tuesday local time since the incident, altogether 11 ships and over 20 planes have been sent by both the army and the local government to the site of the water area where the incident took place, Sun said.
However, after rigorous searching a day and night, the whereabouts of the pilot is still unknown.
Sun said that leaders of the Party and government and army are very much concerned about the security of the pilot and have made instructions to relevant departments to go all out to organize the searching and rescuing work.
People throughout the country have also expressed their special concern through various ways, he added.
According to the spokesman, the Chinese navy sent navy vessels and the Guangzhou salvaging bureau sent rescuing ships to the incident water area for searching and rescuing the pilot immediately after the incident took place.
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