Communism still regards human beings as dispensable and disposable if they interfere with the authority and policies of the ruling elite. Communism sees individual liberty and religious freedom as the biggest threats of all and represses such yearnings with considerable state power. U.S. and Chinese representatives will conduct a postmortem on the incident at an April 18 meeting. U.S. officials have said they have no intention of suspending surveillance flights over international waters. They should not, but rules of engagement, which are understood by most nations, ought to be reiterated to the Chinese.
China deserves no special consideration or extra territorial claims of sovereignty.
Another lesson for the United States is that trade alone is not going to convert China to our values. China remains a nation that wishes America ill and doesn't mind putting its military might where its mouth is. China probably thinks it has diagnosed a softness in America's leaders, starting with Bill Clinton. It's important for the Bush administration to now act in specific and observable ways that will send a different message to Beijing. One way would be to immediately resume reconnaissance flights, and this time, as we did in a nearly five-decade dance with the Soviet Union, protect the pilots with a show of air and sea power.