Your decision to have the incident handled by the Foreign Ministry, and not the PLA, was exceedingly wise. Based on your past actions indicating a desire for stable and productive U.S.-China relations, I assume that the reason that you allowed the American crew to be detained for so long was that your initial understanding of the collision came from the PLA that misrepresented the situation to obscure its own responsibility and justify a larger claim on future budgetary resources. This trapped central leaders into taking uncompromising positions that painted your government into a corner, and from which it was most difficult to escape when it became apparent that your aircraft was far too close to the American airplane. Moreover, these initially self-serving reports inflamed the Chinese people unnecessarily, thereby making a mutually satisfactory resolution of the incident just that much more difficult to achieve. Effective civilian control of the PLA is essential.
China engages in reconnaissance along the coasts of Japan and Vietnam.
So, let s move forward by recognizing that you have an administration in Washington that desires productive bilateral relations, just as Vice Premier Qian Qichen indicated was your government s desire during his March visit to our country. Let s make the upcoming meeting in Beijing successful by agreeing on how the accident occurred and how to avoid future incidents. Both nations will make fateful choices in the wake of these discussions. Search A member of the community.