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On 1 April 2001, a plane collision incident in the South China Sea that shocked the world quietly began.
On that day, an EP-3 reconnaissance plane from United States conducted reconnaissance over the South China Sea and suddenly collided with a Chinese J-8 fighter.
Chinese pilot Wang Wei died heroically, while the United States reconnaissance plane made a forced landing in Hainan.
This incident not only caused sudden tension in Sino-US relations, but also made United States put forward an incredible demand: not only to return the reconnaissance plane, but also to help China "fill up the tank" and send it back to United States!
In the face of United States' hegemonic behavior, how did China skillfully fight back?
United States' hegemonic behavior and unreasonable demands
On the morning of 1 April 2001, a United States Navy EP-3 reconnaissance plane departed from the Kadena base in Okinawa and flew directly into the airspace near China to begin reconnaissance.
This is no ordinary flight, it is specially used to collect China's military intelligence, and it is loaded with all kinds of advanced equipment.
China, of course, will not sit idly by and immediately send two J-8II. fighters to intercept it, one of the pilots is none other than Wang Wei.
No one expected that during the contact between the fighters of the two sides, the United States reconnaissance plane suddenly turned around and directly collided with Wang Wei's plane.
This was not a light moment, as Wang Wei's fighter plane lost control in the air and was seriously damaged.
He parachuted in time, but sadly, Wang Wei's whereabouts have been unknown since then.
Later, after a series of search and rescue, it was finally confirmed as a sacrifice.
At the same time, although the United States EP-3 reconnaissance plane that collided with the plane was damaged, it still landed at Lingshui Airport in Hainan, China.
With this drop, the US demand came out - not only to return the reconnaissance plane, but also to let China "fill up the tank" and then let it fly back to United States on its own.
This is nothing short of an act of outright hegemony.
The US side is acting like a world policeman, as if the whole world has to obey their commands.
United States officials believe that as the most powerful country in the world, they do not need to bow to anyone, let alone apologize for their actions.
In this case, they wanted to assert the so-called "freedom of navigation" and intelligence-gathering rights through a tough stance.
At that time, United States President George W. Bush had just taken office, and under his leadership, United States took a tougher stance toward China.
The Bush administration believes that admitting its mistake is tantamount to losing the legitimacy to continue conducting reconnaissance around China in the future.
This will not only affect the military deployment of the US military in the Asia-Pacific region, but also make other countries question the global hegemony of United States.
Therefore, they refuse to apologize, and they also try to create an image of themselves as "victims" to the world through public opinion.
Negotiations and concessions in the U.S.-China game
As you can imagine, Chinese society was full of anger at this attitude towards United States, and many people took to the streets to protest.
The Chinese government was not ambiguous and immediately launched tough diplomatic actions.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has repeatedly stressed that the responsibility for the incident lies entirely with the US side, and that it was the accident caused by their unauthorized entry into China's airspace.
It was made clear that no other issues could be discussed unless the US side made a formal apology.
As the game between China and the United States intensifies, the situation has entered a diplomatic tug-of-war.
Although the United States government still refuses to apologize, under the pressure of international public opinion and the reaction of the domestic public, they have to start looking for a solution.
In particular United States 24 crew members were detained by China, which made the US side feel unprecedented anxiety.
Within the United States, the families of the crew members continue to pressure the government to release their loved ones as soon as possible.
At the same time, the international community has gradually seen the truth of the incident and believes that United States should bear responsibility for the plane collision incident.
Some international media openly questioned United States' hegemonic behavior, pointing out that the United States should not frequently conduct close reconnaissance around China.
These voices have put the United States government in a more passive position diplomatically.
Against this background, the US side began to adjust its strategy.
United States Secretary of State Colin Powell and other high-ranking officials have frequently issued statements saying that they "regret" the incident, but still do not use the word "apology."
The United States government wants to avoid a moral admission of mistakes and ease China's anger through vague statements.
However, such a strategy is clearly not acceptable to China.
At the same time, China has shown a firm attitude by adhering to the principle of "apologize first, then talk about anything else".
Not only did China not immediately release the crew members, but also took control of the EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft, further seizing the initiative in the negotiations.
At the table of diplomatic negotiations, China has repeatedly reiterated that the solution to the problem is that the United States must admit its mistake and formally apologize.
Otherwise, there would be no negotiations on the release of personnel or the return of aircraft.
After many negotiations, the United States finally realized that continuing the stalemate would only make the situation more difficult to end.
Under the pressure of public opinion and family members, the Bush administration decided to make certain concessions.
They handed in a carefully worded "letter of apology".
Although the formal word "apologize" was still not used in the letter, after several rounds of revisions, they finally expressed the meaning of "very sorry" in the letter.
This subtle concession, while not exactly the "apology" that China expects, is enough to show the softening of the US side's attitude.
After the U.S. side submitted the letter of apology, the Chinese side said that it would release the 24 United States crew members from a humanitarian perspective.
This decision shows China's pattern and demeanor as a great power, and has also won more praise from the international community.
The return of the reconnaissance aircraft was a strategic victory for China
At this point, the issue of the crew has come to an end for the time being, but the issue of the disposal of the reconnaissance aircraft is far from being resolved.
The United States still have illusions and are trying to use diplomatic and technical means to ensure that their reconnaissance planes return to the United States intact.
In order to achieve this goal, United States even proposed sending technicians to China to repair the reconnaissance plane, and then the US military would personally fly the plane away.
This kind of request is simply incredible.
The EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft is not an ordinary aircraft, it is loaded with a large number of advanced electronic monitoring equipment, which is an important tool for United States to conduct global reconnaissance.
If US military personnel are allowed to enter Chinese airfields to repair reconnaissance planes, it will not only allow United States to retain these technologies intact, but also mean that China has lost its dignity and sovereignty in this diplomatic game.
The Chinese side resolutely rejected this proposal.
United States technicians could not enter China, and the condition of the reconnaissance aircraft did not support it to fly back on its own.
The American side had to turn to the option of "dismantling the aircraft".
After several rounds of negotiations, United States agreed to disassemble the reconnaissance aircraft into parts and transport it back to United States by transport aircraft.
For this transport, the United States originally wanted to send American aircraft on the mission, but China again rejected the offer.
In the end, the two sides agreed that a third party, a large An-124 transport aircraft provided by Russia, would be responsible for the transportation.
This result is undoubtedly a strategic victory for China.
What's more, in the process of disassembling the aircraft, Chinese technicians were given an excellent opportunity.
They conducted a meticulous study of the EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft, in particular, the electronic monitoring equipment in it.
Although the U.S. military destroyed the equipment inside the plane before landing, there were still some important parts intact.
Through the analysis of these devices, China was able to get a glimpse of the intelligence technology of the United States at that time and quickly made breakthroughs in related technical fields.
This series of events shows that China has not only not succumbed to this diplomatic conflict, but has achieved a remarkable victory in the game with the world's most powerful country.
The scene of the reconnaissance plane being dismantled and transported back has become a classic case in the Sino-US contest.
It symbolizes China's firm attitude in safeguarding sovereignty and national interests, and also marks China's gradual march to the center of the world stage and its emergence as a major power that cannot be ignored.
Resources:
China and the United States hold talks on the collision and destruction of a Chinese plane by a US military reconnaissance plane and related issues-People's Republic of China Ministry of Foreign Affairs