Officials doubt errant missile, but keep option of US satellite help open

The Ministry of National Defense yesterday once again tried to allay speculation that flight CI611 might have been brought down by friendly fire or a Chinese missile on Saturday, adding that it would not rule out asking the US for satellite images to further clarify the issue.

Though Deputy Director of the National Security Bureau Huang Lai (黃磊) has ruled out the possibility that the plane was hit by a stray Chinese missile and the Ministry of Defense has excluded the possibility of Taiwanese artillery fire, local-Chinese media have yet to let up on speculation over the matter.

With the People's Liberation Army currently holding drills along China's southern coast, speculation was rife that the CAL plane could have been accidentally struck by a Chinese missile.

"We have found no evidence to suggest the possibility of a missile launch," Huang said on Monday.

Meanwhile, according to Rear Admiral Chiang Hai-an (蔣海安) from the Warfare and Planning Office at the Ministry of National Defense yesterday, troops in Penghu did not engage in artillery practice near the crash site on Saturday, even though troops had applied for permission to do so over the last month.

Also, weapons deployed at Penghu's artillery units reach a maximum altitude of 8,500m, Chiang added, while flight CI611 was flying at 9,100m when it disappeared from radar screens.

However, the ministry wouldn't rule out asking the US for assistance in clarifying the situation through satellite imaging, according the ministry spokesman Rear Admiral Huang Sui-sheng (黃穗生).

US satellites scan the earth on a rotating basis and there is no guarantee that any of them photographed the area of the crash at the right moment, local-Chinese media quoted unnamed national security officials as saying.

In addition, there is no knowing whether the military would be able to obtain US satellite images, since intelligence channels between Taiwan and the US have been temporarily disrupted after the recent scandal over the National Security Bureau slush fund broke out in March.

In related news, Defense Minister Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明) ordered the Navy's mine-sweepers to start undersea search and retrieval operations. A number of mine-sweepers were already engaged in the search.

More than 200 navy, coast guard and private vessels were still searching for bodies and debris around the crash site as of press time yesterday.

Tang also ordered troops along the coasts of central and northern Taiwan to search and collect objects that may have fallen from the ill-fated aircraft.