China's Foreign Ministry said yesterday it had accepted a US proposal to dismantle the crippled American EP-3 surveillance plane held on Hainan since April 1 and return it to the US in pieces.
However, US officials denied that any accord had been reached to return the aircraft in pieces.
"The United States has submitted a proposal to take apart the plane and take it back to the US," Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao (
"The Chinese side has agreed to that," he said in an implicit claim of victory after Washington had initially said the damaged plane could be repaired and insisted it be flown off Hainan.
He said the two sides had not yet agreed whether the plane's parts would be flown or shipped from the southern Chinese island.
"The two sides will continue to negotiate on the technical details of returning the plane," Zhu said. "We do not agree to flying the plane out of China. This is impossible."
The US plane made an emergency landing on Hainan island following a collision with a Chinese fighter, and China detained the 24-member crew for 11 days before allowing them to return to the US.
RSS