[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 51 (Monday, April 23, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3783-S3784]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 MILITARY PERSONNEL DETAINED BY THE PRC

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr President, I rise today as the Chairman of the 
Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee to speak to S. Res. 66.
  As we are all now aware, at 9:15 a.m. local time on April 1, 2001, a 
collision occurred between a United States military EP-3E Aries II 
reconnaissance aircraft flying off the coast of the People's Republic 
of China, PRC and one of two F-8 jet fighters from the People's 
Liberation Army-Air Force sent to intercept it. Both countries agree 
that the collision occurred in international airspace over the South 
China Sea near the Chinese island province of Hainan. Due to the damage 
incurred in the accidental collision, the F-8 and its pilot were lost 
at sea and the EP-3E was required to make a ``Mayday'' distress call on 
the internationally recognized emergency radio frequency.
  In fact, the damage to our plane was so bad that it effectuated an 
emergency landing at a military airbase at Lingshui, Hainan. Upon 
landing, the twenty-four United States military personnel aboard the 
EP-3E were removed from the aircraft by Chinese military personnel and 
detained in an undisclosed location, notwithstanding the fact that the 
crew of an aircraft forced to land on foreign soil in an emergency is 
considered under international norms to have sovereign immunity.
  Chinese authorities then unnecessarily prevented United States 
military and consular officials from meeting with the crew members 
until April 3, 2001, and even then permitted only a short, supervised 
visit. There is absolutely no reason why we should not have been 
allowed at the very least telephone access to our military people. 
China is not a technologically backward country without phone service; 
our people are not being held in some isolated mountain village in the 
middle of a jungle. China's behavior in this case in purposefully 
keeping us from contacting the aircrew is, to me, disturbing.
  In addition, I am also concerned that in contravention of 
international norms, Chinese officials have boarded the aircraft and 
have apparently removed portions of the equipment from it. 
International law recognizes both the right of the crew of an aircraft 
in distress to land safely on foreign soil and the inviolable 
sovereignty of an aircraft in distress that has landed on foreign soil; 
it also recognizes the right of a nation which has had an aircraft land 
in distress on foreign soil to have its citizens and aircraft returned 
safely and without undue delay.
  China's flaunting of these conventions disturbs me not just because 
of the ramifications in this particular case, but also because it has 
the capability of wrecking greater havoc on the overall bilateral US-
PRC relationship, a relationship I believe to be our most important in 
Asia along with Japan and South Korea. The Chinese government needs to 
realize that this issue is bigger than just this crew and this plane. 
This is about trust, about whether the PRC can be trusted to live up to 
its word, to live up to international agreements which it has signed, 
and to be a part of the world community of nations. So far, they have 
turned their backs on those agreements, and on their obligations. They 
have shown me, and other Members of Congress, that whether they can be 
trusted is presently open to question.
  If this matter is not resolved immediately and satisfactorily, then 
the Congress needs to rethink whether Beijing can be trusted to fulfill 
its obligations as a member of the WTO. And while I have previously 
stated that I believe it would be a mistake to include such materiel as 
Aegis-equipped destroyers in this year's weapons sales to Taiwan, if 
Beijing remains intransigent and continues to violate norms of decent 
international behavior in this case, then I--for one--will begin to 
reassess whether Taiwan is not justified in its mistrust of the PRC and 
whether such sales might not now be justified. It would truly be a 
shame if, at the beginning of a new Administration, an Administration 
that has not even had a chance yet to formulate or articulate its China 
policy, this situation poisoned the well.
  The resolution is simple. It expresses our regret over the damage to 
the aircraft and the loss of life resulting from the collision. It 
calls on the Chinese government to release the crew, who are, of 
course, utmost in our thoughts and concern; the aircraft, and the 
equipment from the aircraft. Finally, it supports President Bush in his 
efforts. I am pleased that the resolution has a bipartisan list of 
seventy-five cosponsors, including the ranking member of the East Asia 
Subcommittee [Mr. Kerry]; the very distinguished

[[Page S3784]]

President pro tempore [Mr. Thurmond]; the distinguished chairman of the 
Armed Services Committee [Mr. Warner]; the Chairman of the Energy 
Committee [Mr. Murkowski]; three members and the ranking minority 
member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: the distinguished 
Senator from Indiana [Mr. Lugar], Mr. Smith of Oregon and Mr. 
Brownback, and Senator Biden; two Senators who I consider among the 
most knowledgeable on China in the Senate, Senator Feinstein and 
Senator Baucus; and one of our newest members, Senator Clinton.
  I hope that we will act to put the Senate on record on this issue.

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