President George W. Bush said he was proud of a US spy plane crew and eager for their return after China agreed to free them, ending an 11-day standoff that marked the president's first major foreign policy test.
"We can't wait for them to get home," Bush said Wednesday after US and Chinese diplomats reached agreement paving the way for the release of the plane's 24 crew members. They had been detained since April 1 after making an emergency landing on China's Hainan Island after a mid-air collision with a Chinese fighter jet.
A chartered Continental Airlines plane flew the US military personnel to the Pacific island of Guam, where they arrived at 0400 GMT, Thursday. The crew was to go on to Hawaii after a layover in Guam.
"These have been difficult days for all of the families. And these days are a reminder of the sacrifices all of our men and women in uniform and their families make every single day for freedom," Bush said.
A White House official said the president, traveling in North Carolina, would probably telephone the freed military personnel while they are in Guam.
Officials said they planned to have the crew members reunited with their families by Easter Sunday.
Bush's remarks prompted an explosion of cheers and chants of "USA! USA!" from the 8,000 supporters packed into East Carolina University's indoor sports arena, hundreds of whom waved US flags as the screaming crowd interrupted the president's speech for a minute.
For Bush, it was an upbeat end to a tense standoff sparked after the US EP-3 Aries collided with a Chinese F-8 jet over international waters some 100 kilometers (62 miles) away from Hainan island.
Beijing repeatedly demanded a formal apology but eventually settled for a formal letter saying Washington was "very sorry" for the loss of the Chinese pilot and for entering Chinese airspace without securing verbal clearance.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell, traveling in Paris, stuck to the US line: "We did not do anything wrong, and therefore it was not possible to apologize."
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, on her part, strongly denied that the release of the US military personnel had been the result of a secret deal in which the United States made important concessions.
"Under no circumstances were broader issues placed on the table or somehow bartered away with the Chinese," she told ABC's "Nightline" program late Wednesday.
The fate of the airplane itself was to be determined in Sino-US talks set to begin April 18, according to the US letter to Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan, signed by US Ambassador Joseph Prueher.
Hours after Rice told him the showdown was over, Bush made a brief statement at the White House, expressing "sorrow" over the fate of the Chinese pilot but saying he was "pleased" the crew was free.
Prueher's letter said the April 18 talks would explore how future collisions can be prevented and develop a plan for returning the US plane. It also noted that Beijing aims to raise the issue of US reconnaissance missions near China.
Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral Craig Quigley on Wednesday refused to rule out surveillance flights along the Chinese coast, rejecting Beijing's demand that they stop.
"We do not discuss the scheduling of reconnaissance and surveillance flights around the world," he told reporters, refusing to say when the next EP-3 will fly the same route near Hainan Island.
Prueher's letter was notably more contrite than public statements made by Bush, who has dismissed predecessor Bill Clinton's vision of a "strategic partnership" and endorsed a view of Beijing as a "strategic competitor."
"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," Prueher said in his missive.
"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." -- WASHINGTON (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
