U.S. resumes surveillance flights off Chinese coast

From CNN Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Unarmed and unescorted, a U.S. Air Force RC-135 flew a surveillance flight along the Chinese coast Monday, the first such flight since an April 1 collision between a U.S. plane and a Chinese fighter jet.

A senior Pentagon official told CNN the plane followed "a northern track" and avoided Hainan Island, where the U.S. plane involved in the collision still sits.

The collision, which killed the Chinese pilot, inflamed tensions between the United States and China. The Chinese detained the U.S. crew for 11 days and insisted that they had caused the accident by ramming the Chinese jet.

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China demanded compensation and an end to surveillance flights in the area.

U.S. officials said the Chinese pilot caused the collision by flying recklessly. The Pentagon insisted such surveillance flights are legal and would not be halted.

Monday's mission was flown by an RC-135 Rivet Joint plane from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, the Pentagon official said. It returned safely to base without incident late Monday afternoon.

The RC-135 is an electronic monitoring aircraft on the frame of a Boeing 707 jet.

Dueling accusations

After last month's collision, the 24-member crew of the U.S. Navy EP-3E nursed the severely damaged plane to the nearest base for landing, China's Longshui air base on Hainan Island.

But the Chinese accused the United States of violating China's airspace by making the emergency landing there and detained the crew.

The diplomatic showdown ended and the crew was released after U.S. President George W. Bush sent a letter saying the United States was "very sorry" for the Chinese pilot's death and for the U.S. plane's landing without permission.

The U.S. crew returned home to a heroes' welcome while China kept the plane. U.S. officials expect that the plane eventually will be released.

China allowed a U.S. team to inspect the damage last week. The team told U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that it might be possible to fly the plane -- missing a nose cone and with two engines and a propeller damaged -- away from Hainan Island.

If the plane cannot be flown, it will likely be cut into pieces and shipped back to the United States.

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U.S. Department of Defense
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White House
Chinese Foreign Ministry
U.S. Embassy of the People's Republic of China
U.S. Navy factfile: The EP-3

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