Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao reiterated Tuesday in Beijing that the US surveillance plane, which landed in China's Hainan Province without permission after bumping into and destroying a Chinese fighter jet on April 1, has violated Chinese as well as international laws.
While giving a full account of the truth of the mid-air collision between US and Chinese military planes, Zhu said that China's Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone and the Convention of International Civil Aviation of 1944 clearly showed it is illegal for the US plane to intrude into Chinese airspace and land at a Chinese military airport without approval from the Chinese side.
The act of the US surveillance plane also violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the consensus made between China and the US in May 2000, the spokesman said.
Zhu added that as what the American plane did is an infringement upon Chinese sovereignty, there is nothing to do with its diplomatic immunity and China has every right to inspect the plane in accordance with Chinese and international laws.
The fact on US plane's bumping into and destroying Chinese fighter jet is clear-cut and the US side cannot cover the truth, he said.
The US plane also forced the Chinese pilot to abandon his jet by parachute, Zhu said, adding that pilot Wang Wei's whereabouts are still unknown.
He affirmed that up till 14:00 hours Tuesday Beijing time, China has sent 29 ships and 37 planes to search for and rescue Wang. The mission to find him is still going on, Zhu said.
(china Daily 04/04/2001)
