Pentagon says deal 'close'
on return of EP-3 from China
By Lisa Burgess,
Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The four-person team from Pacific Command sent to negotiate details
of dismantling the crippled Navy EP-3 and flying it back to the United States is still in
Beijing discussing the issue, Pentagon officials said.
The team arrived in Beijing late last week to pin down all the political and technical
details of the recovery plan, said Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, the Pentagon’s spokesman.
"The talks are very, very productive," Quigley said. "We’re very
hopeful that we’re close" to nailing down the exact plan that will lead to the
aircraft’s repatriation.
The United States has been demanding return of the Navy EP-3 since it landed in China
on April 1 following a collision with a Chinese jet fighter. U.S. officials wanted to
repair the aircraft in place and fly it off the island, but the Chinese government insists
that flying the aircraft off the island would insult national pride.
Once the political niceties are settled, the team will travel on to Lingshui air base
on the southern island of Hainan, where the plane has been grounded, to work out technical
details of the disassembly process, including whether local contractors should be brought
into the process.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Monday in Kiev, Ukraine, that he
has given a limited go-ahead to resume military-to-military contacts with China now that
the spy plane incident is being resolved, according to The Associated Press.
Rumsfeld said, as he has in the recent past, that it was inappropriate to conduct
normal business with China during the 12 days that the crew of the EP-3 was detained on
Hainan island, or during the weeks that China dragged out negotiations over release of the
plane.
Now that China has agreed to release the damaged plane — although not the terms
the United States originally sought — some contacts with the Chinese military will
resume in the weeks ahead, Rumsfeld said.
"I’ve approved a number" of future contacts with the Chinese military
that require advance planning, he told reporters in an interview en route from Incirlik
Air Base in Turkey to the Ukrainian capital, where he was scheduled to hold meetings with
senior government officials Tuesday.
Rumsfeld did not mention any specific military-to-military contacts that he has
approved. "I have been approving things as we’ve gone along," he said.
"Some of those things are down the road."
He noted that the Pentagon requested permission for the USS Inchon to visit Hong Kong
but China refused.
Quigley said Tuesday that the Pentagon is "working" on developing a list of
contacts with China that Rumsfeld has approved.
"We’re still taking a very cautious approach to military-to-military
relations" with China, Quigley said.
Quigley declined to predict whether the EP-3’s repatriation would lead to
increased contact beween the Pentagon and China’s military.
The EP-3’s return "is certainly an element, but it’s not the only issue
on the table," Quigley said, citing Rumsfeld’s remarks in March that contacts
between the U.S. and Chinese militaries should be equal on both sides and offer "a
sense of comparable value to both nations."
"Who knows what issues will be on the table in the future?
"It’s a hard call," Quigley said.
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