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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Crystal ball who wrote (38265)	4/6/2001 5:53:41 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

Some good news..President Bush on Friday for the first time reported progress on bringing home the 24-member crew of a U.S. spy plane held by China since it collided with a Chinese fighter six days ago. ``We're working hard to bring them home through intensive discussions with the Chinese government, and we think we're making progress,'' Bush said, giving his first upbeat assessment of an incident that has roiled U.S.-Chinese relations. Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) said Washington and Beijing were exchanging ``precise ideas'' on how to end the spy plane standoff that has presented Bush with his first major foreign policy crisis but he declined to go into details. As part of the diplomatic flurry, China's ambassador in Washington Yang Jiechi was due to meet U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage late Friday for further talks. The two sides were in intense discussions about releasing the crew of the U.S. EP-3 surveillance aircraft, which landed on China's Hainan Island after colliding on Sunday with a Chinese F-8 fighter whose pilot is missing. Sen. John Warner (news - bio - voting record), an influential Virginia Republican, said the two sides were negotiating the text of a joint letter that would express regret for the loss of the Chinese fighter pilot but would not include a U.S. apology as demanded by Beijing. ``The question of an apology is not in any way to be incorporated in the letter,'' Warner, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee (news - web sites) which has oversight over the U.S. military and has been briefed on the talks, told reporters. Warner also said U.S. and Chinese experts may ``sit down and assess the facts'' of how the two planes collided over the South China Sea. One vehicle for this might be the Military Maritime Consultation Agreement, a 1998 pact created as a way for the U.S. and Chinese militaries to discuss their sea operations. China on Friday appeared to be still pressing for an apology which U.S. officials have so far declined to provide because they believe that the collision was not their fault. In a sign that negotiations may be heating up, Bush took the unusual step of bringing his national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites), and his counselor, Karen Hughes, along on a trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to attend a baseball game. Catered Food For Crew Photos Reuters Photo ``I'm encouraged because there has been movement and because we are exchanging rather precise ideas as to how to bring this to a conclusion,'' Powell told reporters. In one sign of some progress, a U.S. official was allowed to meet with the crew at a military base on China's Hainan Island for the second time since they were taken into custody and Chinese officials promised a third meeting on Saturday. Powell said the 21 men and 3 women were receiving ``catered food from outside'' and were generally treated well in Chinese officers quarters at the military base where they are being held, with the three women staying together, the pilot on his own, and the rest of the crew grouped two to a room. ``We are proud of these young men and women who are upholding the high standards of our armed forces,'' Bush said. ``We know this is a difficult time for their families, and I thank them for their patriotism and their patience.'' U.S. Military Attache Neal Sealock briefed Bush after his visit to the crew, telling the U.S. president by telephone: ``(It would) make you feel real proud. They look real good.'' Exchanging Ideas And Papers U.S. officials declined to provide details of their talks with Chinese officials on resolving the crisis, which has threatened to hurt a U.S.-Chinese relationship already frayed by disputes over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and human rights. ``We are in very intensive discussions and negotiations and exchanging ideas and papers, and there has been movement. But that's as far as I'd like to go right now,'' Powell said. He added: ``We're discussing a number of ideas as to how to exchange explanations'' for the incident. The Bush administration has sought to balance its desire to get the crew and the plane out and to maintain good relations with China with a deep reluctance to apologize for an incident in which they do not believe the United States is at fault. Bush himself made a conciliatory gesture on Thursday by saying he regretted the disappearance of the Chinese fighter and its pilot, but he carefully avoided the word ``apology''. The White House sought to maintain a ``business as usual'' atmosphere, with Bush making two public appearances before flying to Wisconsin on Friday afternoon to throw out the opening pitch at a Milwaukee Brewers baseball game.