The team will assess the EP-3's engines, airframe, power plant, electronics and fuel systems, Barger said. It will also evaluate the structural integrity of the aircraft to determine whether it is capable of being repaired and flown out of China or if another method of transport will have to be used, he said. Pentagon officials say that while the team's mission is to determine how to retrieve the aircraft in the event that China agrees to return it to the U.S., its eventual report on the plane's condition might add to U.S. knowledge about the level of intelligence lost to China. The U.S. made repeated demands for the crew and the plane to be returned. China's decision to grant access has been received positively by the U.S., coming soon after a blunt statement by President George W. Bush about its defense support for Taiwan and the biggest U.S. weapons offer to Taiwan in a decade.
China regards Taiwan as a renegade province.
The Communist Party news outlet, the People's Daily, said the inspection had been approved following the conclusion of the Chinese investigation, but did not mention the possible return of the plane. U.S. officials say the U.S. crew managed to disable the most sensitive equipment, but some secrets may have been uncovered by the Chinese. Meanwhile U.S. Ambassador Joseph Prueher said the American team was happy with progress made in arranging for the return of the plane, which U.S. officials say is too damaged to fly. Debate over costs On Sunday U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said according to reports he had seen the plane would have to be taken out on a barge. Meanwhile, the People's Daily said the U.S. had agreed to consider making a payment to China over the plane, with the amount and related details to be discussed later.