U.S. and Hong Kong (2001)

State Department Noon Briefing, May 29, 2001

Following is the State Department transcript:

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Daily Press Briefing

Tuesday, May 29, 2001

BRIEFER: Phillip T. Reeker, Deputy Spokesman

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Q: Do we have any clarification on whether there is or is not an agreement or the status of discussions with the U.S. and China on the plane? There have been, as you know, several reports that there was an agreement, but they usually come out of China, so I want to know if we have any to match this time.

And also, could you explain anything about why the American warship Inchon was denied access to the port?

MR. REEKER: Sure, let's start on the EP-3 plane. I know we dealt with this a little bit last week when we were still discussing things on Thursday. We have agreed now in principle that an Antonov 124 aircraft can be used to remove our EP-3 aircraft from Lingshui Airfield on Hainan Island. Details of the recovery operation remain under discussion, but that agreement in principle is now set.

As you know, we have been engaging in ongoing discussions with the Chinese about the return of our plane, and now we have an agreement in principle with a number of technical issues obviously that still need to be resolved, and talks on those issues will need to continue.

So I don't have any further details to offer, but that looks like the plan of action we'll take now, and that is using an AN-124, an Antonov aircraft, to remove our plane from the island.

Q: And the warship?

MR. REEKER: Oh, the warship. I'm sorry, let me just finish your thing.

Just to make sure we're talking about the same thing, this is the Inchon. China informed our consulate in Hong Kong on May 15th -- I guess that would be about two weeks ago -- that it has denied a request for the USS Inchon, a mine countermeasures command-and-control ship to visit Hong Kong. That request had been for a port call June 28th through July 3rd. And I don't believe a reason was given for the disapproval, so you would want to ask the Chinese that.

Q: Is it unusual?

MR. REEKER: I think as we've discussed before over the last couple of years, in terms of the U.S. Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, I believe, recognizes Hong Kong's special status, and most of our official interactions with Hong Kong continue to be handled separately from official U.S. Government interaction with the PRC. So we have maintained the port calls by our ships in Hong Kong are distinct from official U.S. Navy ship visits to mainland Chinese ports, and we have had a number of port visits to Hong Kong at times. Others have been denied.

Q: So it would be unusual that China was interfering in this one, you would say, because --

MR. REEKER: I don't know if I would call it unusual per se. We look at it as Hong Kong having a special status. There have been ship visits that have been denied before. This one that was proposed for a certain date, as I mentioned, at the end of July, has been turned down without any particular explanation.

We will obviously have to send our ship somewhere else for a liberty call. I don't have details as to where and when the crew would take liberty. You might want to check with DOD on that. And as I said, we continue to believe that U.S. Navy port calls to Hong Kong are in our interest. Hong Kong is a port that provides services and facilities and convenience for those things.

Q: The other visits that have been denied, were reasons given for those denials?

MR. REEKER: I would have to check back, George, and see. I don't know that we have had specific things. I would probably refer you to the Chinese on those.

Q: Do you see a link between this refusal and the review by the Pentagon of its military-to-military program with China?

MR. REEKER: I don't. I would let you ask the Pentagon or the Chinese that.

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