China has accused the United States of duplicity in taking a harder line since winning the release of the plane's 24 crew members. It included the February collision of a U.S. Navy submarine and a Japanese fishing boat off Hawaii and a 1998 accident where 20 skiers were killed in Italy after a U.S. Marine Corps fighter jet snapped the cable holding up their ski lift. While American and Chinese negotiators met in Beijing, U.S. officials in Washington were weighing what weapons to sell Taiwan. The communist government considers the island a breakaway province, and has threatened to use force to capture it. The administration has tried to separate the weapons package from the dispute over U.S. spy flights.
China bitterly resents the Taiwan arms sales.
The U.S. plane is believed to be at the Hainan island air base where it made its emergency landing. Satellite photos indicate China is examining the aircraft's top secret surveillance equipment. Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.