Washington and Beijing were locked in a standoff yesterday over the fate of a US spy plane bristling with top secret electronics that was forced to land in China after colliding with a Chinese fighter jet.
US diplomats flew to Hainan Island to try to win the release of 24 US air crew who were aboard the plane when it made the emergency landing on Sunday.
In Beijing, US Ambassador Admiral Joseph Prueher turned up the diplomatic heat by saying China's refusal to allow any contact with the crew so far was "inexplicable and unacceptable."
"It's inexplicable and unacceptable and of grave concern to the most senior leaders of the United States government that the air crew has been held incommunicado for over 32 hours," Prueher told a news conference.
He said he was increasingly frustrated by his inability to put a phone call through to the plane's commander and crew.
Two defense attaches from the US embassy in Beijing arrived in Haikou, capital of Hainan, to join a third diplomat already sent in from the US consulate in southern Guangzhou. The two were met by a Chinese official, jumped into a van and sped off toward Lingshui military airport on the southern edge of the island province near the city of Sanya.
The US will leave three warships in the South China Sea region to "monitor the situation," a defense official in Washington said yesterday.
"They were scheduled to transit through there, what they're doing now is moving more slowly, loitering in that area," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
The three destroyers will linger "just to monitor the situation while we've got our aircraft on the ground in Hainan," the official said.
"I wouldn't say it's a show of force," added the official, noting that US naval forces routinely operate in the region. "Their presence is a constant signal of US interest."
Earlier, a spokesman for the US Pacific Command in Honolulu bluntly warned Beijing to stay away from the EP-3, a treasure trove of military intelligence.
"The entire aircraft is considered sovereign US territory, and the Chinese are not to seize, inspect or board it without US permission," said Lieutenant Commander Sean Kelly.
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