[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5466-5467]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                           SPY PLANE STANDOFF

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, the South China Sea has always been an area 
of constant stress for our men and women in military uniforms, 
especially the cat-and-dog fights that have gone on, really for many of 
the past years. That is why an accident was bound to happen.
  China believes the U.S. plane caused the collision by making an 
abrupt turn while two Chinese fighter pilots shadowed it. Give me a 
break. The EP-3 is a lumbering turtle, while the Chinese J8s respond 
like nimble jackrabbits. Colin Powell has stated, ``A tragic accident 
took place. We regret that the Chinese plane did not get down safely. 
We regret the loss of life of the Chinese pilot, but now we need to 
move on. We need to bring this to a resolution.''
  Make no mistake, the planes were operating in international airspace. 
By

[[Page 5467]]

international law, the EP-3 is sovereign U.S. territory.
  Earlier today two U.S. diplomats were allowed to visit 24 U.S. crew 
members. The detained Americans looked healthy, but China has given no 
indication as to when they may be released. Among these are two 
Illinoisans, Seaman Jeremy Crandall of Poplar Grove, Illinois, and 
Sergeant Mitchell Pray of Geneseo, Illinois.
  The Chinese Government is treating this like we are still in the Cold 
War, and we are not. Our concern is we do not want this to turn into 
another period of constant tension and struggle and a return back to 
the Cold War era. But make no mistake, the United States is not a 
Nation to be trifled with, and our patience will only last so long. We 
need our crew back, we need our plane back, and we need to return to 
normalized relations with China. The best way to do that is for the 
peaceful return of both our crew members and our plane.

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