Wednesday, April 11
US, China reach pact on crew release
The United States and China have reached an agreement for the release of the American spy plane crew, the White House announced today. The agreement, said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, would "bring an end to the detention of the flight crew ... on Hainan island." Full report.
• US sends statement of regret to China
• Pop-up graphic: Two views of the mid-air collision
• US hands tied over fate of crew
• Henry Kissinger: Keeping the Middle Kingdom away from the edge
Tuesday, April 10
US expresses sorrow but rules out apology
Washington has expressed "sorrow" to the wife of Wang Wei, the Chinese pilot who has
been missing since his jet collided with an American spy plane.
Full report.
• Gay Alcorn: For both sides, it's a matter of national pride
• Gerard Henderson: Chilly relations turn heat on Australia
Monday, April 9
Hopes rest on letter as China talks stall
Negotiations between China and the United States appeared to stall yesterday over the return of 24 American air crew held on Hainan island for more than a week after their spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter. With the stand-off entering its second week, the threat of long-term damage to US-China
relations is increasing. Full report.
Sunday, April 8
Somewhere in China sits a US aircrew
A blurred photograph, the only public peek of the US Navy air crew held in China, shows them looking straight ahead as if listening to a lecture, their faces blank and offering little hint of their ordeal. Full report.
• You're a coward, Mr President
• For Bush, it's a case of all allies on deck
Saturday, April 7
China and US move to cool spy plane stand-off
Relieved United States diplomats on the southern Chinese island of Hainan have again been allowed to meet the crew of the US spy plane that made an emergency landing there last Sunday.
Full report.
• How a routine military chess game ended in deadly stalemate.
Herald China correspondent John Schauble discusses the continuing stand-off.
Friday, April 6
US regret not good enough for Chinese
China yesterday welcomed as a step in the right direction United States statements of regret over a Chinese pilot missing since a collision with an American spy plane, but repeated a demand for a full apology.
Full report.
• Lives or equipment - guessing game starts on whether priorities were right
• Lost at sea, Wang Wei is propaganda weapon
Thursday, April 5
No backdowns as heat rises in deadlock
The Chinese and United States governments dug in to more defiant positions over the spy plane crisis yesterday, making a way out more difficult to find.
Full report.
• Clock is ticking as US scrambles on spy plane
• No legal basis for detaining crew, say experts
Wednesday, April 4
China demands US apology
The Chinese leadership has demanded an apology from the United States over the spy
plane collision and an end to American surveillance flights close to its territory as tensions
mounted on the third day of the crisis.
Full report.
• China will hit secrets jackpot if plane equipment is intact
• Spy plane puts Bush on high-altitude learning curve
Tuesday, April 3
Standoff over spy plane
Washington and Beijing were locked in a Cold War-style standoff yesterday over the fate of a United States spy plane, carrying 24 crew, that was forced to land in China after colliding with a Chinese fighter jet. Full report.
• Spy plane down at a perilous time
• Hamish McDonald: US and China head for more hard landings
Monday, April 2
Standoff over spy plane
A US navy aircraft was damaged and a Chinese military jet crashed after the two collided over the South China Sea, US and Chinese officials said, giving differing details of the incident. Full report
• US spy plane belongs to secret unit