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CNN Saturday Morning News

Controversy Over Spy Plane Collision Continues

Aired April 14, 2001 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin with the collision over the South China Sea 13 days ago between a navy reconnaissance plane and a Chinese jet fighter. It was not the first such encounter, is what we're learning. Navy video from earlier this year shows the Chinese F-8 cutting in front of a navy EP-3 and sources tell CNN the pilot is Wang Wei, who was lost in the collision just two weeks ago.

The search for him has been called off and the issue of Chinese fighters flying dangerously close to U.S. planes in international air space is expected to be discussed when U.S. and Chinese officials meet in Beijing on Wednesday.

It's impossible to appreciate the level of relief that will greet the navy flight crew when they arrive back at their home base in just about 11 hours. Some of that was, of course, evidenced when China -- or evident, rather, when China released the 21 men and women and three women after a tense 11 day stand-off with the U.S. And they were whisked to Hawaii to be debriefed.

But the real celebration will be this afternoon when they arrive back at their home base, Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Washington State.

CNN national correspondent Mike Boettcher explains what's in store for them -- good morning, Mike.

MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kyra.

Well, it should be quite a show. Just look at this empty hangar. It's big enough to probably hold about four EP-3s. But later on this afternoon it only has to be big enough to handle the 24 crew and about 10,000 people. That how many people they are expecting.

The families will be able to sit up front, the family of the crew members. There are 24 chairs facing the audience. That's for the crew. And then on the podium, a series of leather chairs for the dignitaries. We're still not sure exactly who's going to be here, who's going to direct this, but someone from Washington will be here and it should be quite an occasion.

This entire area of Whidbey Island and Oak Harbor, which is located next to Whidbey Island Navy Air Station, has had yellow ribbons up for the last 13 days awaiting the return of the crew. They have signs all over town, on the electronic signs at car dealers, they have handmade signs made by elementary school students. So a lot of people from town will be here, most everyone from the base and also guests invited from around the country.

This ceremony should last about 45 minutes and when it's over, the crew can go on its 30 day convalescence leave. Now, they are given that in circumstances like this, but we are told that the crew, many of them want to go back and start flying again. The navy would rather see them take some time off. They want to make sure they're mentally prepared to fly again before they put them back up in the air -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, they'll no doubt enjoy that time off. Mike Boettcher, thanks so much. We'll be looking forward to the party -- Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: While America waits for the crew to be reunited with their families later today, we are awaiting the crew's departure from Hawaii, where they have been undergoing exhaustive debriefings. CNN is planning live coverage of their departure and CNN national correspondent Martin Savidge is leading our coverage there. He joins us from Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii with details, where it is very early in the morning -- good morning, Marty.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That it is, indeed, just a little after two o'clock in the morning, in fact. You can see here at Hickam Air Force Base the white lights illuminating what the military refers to as a C-9 aircraft, painted white and gray. It might look a little bit familiar. It should. It is the civilian version would be called a DC-9 aircraft and though you can't see it etched on the side just up by the front door is the name, The City of Seattle.

Not just a coincidence, obviously. This plane is headed off to Whidbey Island. That is the air station that is located about 50 miles north of Seattle, Washington. The debriefs got finished at around 10:00 P.M. local time last night. That's just about on schedule for the U.S. Navy. It was the second very grueling day of those debriefs. And now the crew members are getting some sleep, if they can. The navy members admit that the crew is very, very excited about the prospect of heading home, so it's probably a fitful sleep at best.

Then they'll show up here at 6:30 in the morning local time. That's about 12:30 in the afternoon on the Eastern Time zone. And the crew members will give a brief news conference. It's expected that three of the crew members will talk, including the pilot and now considered a hero, Shane Osborn.

After that they will then wave at the gathered media and the crowd, board the aircraft and wing their way on the six hour journey that will take them to the open arms of their family members and the community that waits to greet them -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Martin Savidge, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, where we will be seeing him all throughout the morning and day. CNN will bring you live coverage of the crew homecoming today. A news conference is planned when the crew departs Hawaii. That's scheduled at 12:45 p.m. Eastern Time, 9:45 a.m. Pacific Time. And CNN will be at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Washington when the crew arrives back at their home base several hours later. Live coverage of that event begins at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 3:00 Pacific.

PHILLIPS: The tone from the White House and Pentagon changed dramatically the moment the navy crew was out of China. There is the U.S. anger over the incident and the way the Chinese have allegedly behaved. Now, that could sour U.S.-China relations for years to come and CNN White House correspondent Kelly Wallace is in Crawford, Texas, where President Bush is spending the weekend at his ranch, and she joins us with more on the mood there and why the president decided not to attend the cruise homecoming -- why is that, Kelly?

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that -- good morning, Kyra.

Well, Mr. Bush decided against going out to Washington State. His spokesman, Ari Fleischer, saying that the president does not believe that politicians always need to insert themselves into tender moments. Further, Fleischer quoting Mr. Bush as saying the president wants the crew to come home with a lot of hoopdelah. That's a word the president used: "hoopdelah."

Well, with the crew, though, back here in the United States, the president and his top advisers, as you mentioned, Kyra, are talking a lot tougher about Beijing. And yesterday, the Pentagon released this videotape taken by a U.S. crew on January 24 showing a Chinese pilot cutting very close in front of an EP-3 surveillance plane. Sources tell CNN the Chinese pilot is Wang Wei, the same pilot presumed dead after the midair collision.

Now, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld showed that tape at a news conference in which he broke his silence about the April 1 midair collision and he blamed the Chinese for that incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: It is clear that the pilot intended to harass the crew. It was not the first time that our reconnaissance and surveillance flights flying in that area received that type of aggressive contact from interceptors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: And now U.S. officials prepare to ask, in the words of President Bush, some very tough questions of Chinese officials at a meeting scheduled for this Wednesday in Beijing. Those questions include, according to senior administration officials, why has China used such aggressive tactics intercepting reconnaissance flights and sometimes flying within three feet of the plane? Why was the crew held in detention at all, let alone for 11 days? And why did China demand an apology before it had even done its own investigation into who was at fault in the accident?

And topping the agenda at this meeting, U.S. officials say, will be getting that $80 million surveillance plane back. U.S. officials say they want the plane back, in part, to see what sensitive high tech equipment, if any, the Chinese have been able to review. Senator administration officials believe exactly how the Chinese respond to these questions and just what happens at this meeting could say a lot about the future of the U.S.-China relationship -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Kelly Wallace, thanks so much -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Well, what about that Chinese response and what about the future of the relationship? And this all comes on the day the Chinese officially end their search for that pilot who was downed in that incident. Let's get Rebecca MacKinnon, our Beijing bureau chief, on the line with more on that -- Rebecca.

REBECCA MACKINNON, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Miles, Chinese state run media is declaring the search to be officially off for Chinese fighter pilot Wang Wei after 14 days, an extensive search involving naval ships, fishing boats, planes and 100,000 people. Wang Wei is now being eulogized as a national hero who gave his life to safeguard Chinese territorial integrity and national sovereignty.

Meanwhile, the Chinese foreign ministry coming out with a response to comments made by U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, in which he presented evidence that the collision was caused by Wang Wei, the Chinese fighter pilot, saying the that U.S. version of events is not true, that China has evidence to prove that the responsibility is completely on the American side, without going into that evidence.

The foreign ministry spokesman also accusing Washington of ignoring the facts and calling black white -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Rebecca, we've been watching this videotape of this January incident, which implies there might very well be a similar videotape related to the incident at hand here. The Chinese indicated that they have that in their possession, along with the rest of the plane, and are they planning at all to share that with anybody?

MACKINNON: Well, that's very much not clear what China plans to share with anybody else. They have said that their investigation of the incident is still ongoing. They're still "investigating" the plane, all indications being that they're going over it very thoroughly. Exactly what they share in terms of the black box on the plane or any videos taken by the crew members from that plane is not clear -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Rebecca MacKinnon live from Beijing, thanks much.

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