China - Regrets Only.(Brief Article)

As all the world knows, on April 1 an American surveillance plane and a Chinese fighter collided near Hainan, and both went down. For ten days, the government of China refused to release the 24 downed American servicemen and demanded an apology, for both the alleged spying and its lost pilot. On April 11, the Bush administration secured the release of the crew by issuing a letter that 1) apologized for our plane's breach of Chinese airspace, 2) expressed appreciation for "China's efforts to see to the well-being of our crew," and 3) agreed to a meeting to discuss when the plane will be returned and how future collisions can be avoided.

In judging this settlement, it is important to keep in mind what China's real goal during this episode has been. What China wants is to push America out of the South China Sea. When Beijing says that the planes collided in Chinese airspace, and Washington responds that they were over international waters, they are not disputing a location. They are disputing a jurisdiction. The Chinese claim that the sea and the sky above it are theirs. They are therefore justified in harassing our planes to try to drive us out-even if that harassment increases the risk of a deadly accident. Such as the one the Chinese caused on April 1.

Beijing's demand for an apology was a provocation dressed up as a protest. To apologize for our surveillance would have been to concede China's territorial claim. And with America out of the South China Sea, Taiwan would be even more vulnerable to Beijing. The Chinese were holding Americans hostage so that they might be able to hold Taiwan hostage later.

The administration should be commended for avoiding this concession. The letter it released is ambiguous about when our plane entered Chinese airspace-before the collision or during the emergency landing. Less commendable were the administration's concessions on the intangible dimensions of security to which we refer as "face." To express regret over the Chinese pilot's death is unobjectionable. But to apologize for a landing forced by Chinese recklessness and preceded by several unanswered Mayday calls, and to thank the Chinese for treating ...