[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6343]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



    ON H. CON. RES. 106, COMMENDING THE CREW OF THE U.S. NAVY EP-3 
             FOLLOWING THE ACCIDENT WITH A CHINESE AIRCRAFT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the crew of the 
U.S. Navy EP-3 aircraft for their outstanding performance of duty 
following the collision with the Chinese F-8 fighter on April 1 and 
during their subsequent detention by Chinese authorities on the island 
of Hainan, China.
  I want to make several points about this incident. First, our plane 
and its crew did nothing to precipitate this incident. They were flying 
straight and level, on autopilot, at a slow speed in international 
airspace. They were performing a routine and legitimate reconnaissance 
and surveillance mission similar to those performed by many other 
countries around the world.
  It was the Chinese jet that flew in front of and dangerously close to 
our EP-3 aircraft. It was the Chinese pilot who displayed poor and 
unprofessional airmanship, causing his plane to collide with ours. To 
me, it is simply implausible to suggest a slow and level flying multi-
engine turboprop airplane could fly into a fighter jet aircraft. I do 
not think there is any question about who was really at fault in this 
accident. It was the Chinese pilot.
  Once the collision occurred, our pilot and crew did everything they 
could do. They transmitted multiple ``Mayday'' signals to alert others 
to their in-flight emergency. They tried to alert the Chinese that they 
would have to divert for an emergency landing in China. And our plane 
landed on Hainan Island only because it was an emergency.
  Our pilot and crew deserve high praise for safely landing the 
aircraft despite severe structural damage and in attempting to follow 
procedures to minimize the compromise of sensitive national security 
information. They also deserve credit for behaving so professionally 
during the 11 days they were detained against their will by Chinese 
authorities.
  Beyond the crew and this incident, there are also broader issues here 
about which we should all be concerned. I refer, of course, to the 
Chinese demand that the United States should cease reconnaissance and 
surveillance flights off the coast of China. We should not. Our flights 
are lawful and are carried out in international airspace and are 
important to the national security of the United States. Moreover, the 
Navy EP-3 aircraft should be returned. It is clear under international 
law that under the circumstances under which this collision and the 
emergency landing of our plane occurred, the Navy EP-3 airplane is the 
property of the United States. It should be returned to us.
  Finally, if Chinese aircraft continue to intercept and employ 
aggressive tactics against our airplanes when we resume our 
reconnaissance surveillance flights, as we surely will, they run a 
grave risk. They run the risk of jeopardizing the important 
relationships that now exist between the United States and China. 
Despite ideological and governmental differences between the 
governments of our two countries, the last several years have shown 
that our countries can get along and have beneficial relationships, 
cultural, educational and economic.
  The Chinese Government should realize that the beneficial relations 
that now exist between our countries could deteriorate if they continue 
to harass our airplanes when we are operating lawfully in international 
airspace.
  I have introduced a resolution, H. Con. Res. 106, that expresses my 
commendation of the crew of the Navy EP-3 aircraft for the exemplary 
performance of their duties. The resolution also expresses the sense of 
Congress that reconnaissance and surveillance flights should continue, 
that our plane should be returned to us, and that continued 
interception of our flights may have broader political consequences. I 
invite Members of the House to cosponsor my resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, Americans are immensely proud of the 24 members of the 
EP-3 crew and share the joy of their families and friends on the crew's 
safe return to the United States. Our men and women in uniform make 
personal sacrifices and take great risk every day to keep our Nation 
free. We should not take them for granted. In this case, we should all 
be grateful that the 24 service members of the Navy EP-3 have returned 
safely. I applaud them for their professionalism and performance of 
duty under most arduous circumstances.

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