Sino-U.S. plane talks

Although China and the United States announced on Thursday that the second day of talks on the spy plane incident ended on a positive note, the talks have failed to break the deadlock in their dispute over the cause of the mid-air collision between the U.S. turboprop reconnaissance plane and the Chinese F-8 jet fighter on April 1.

The US$80 million surveillance plane was forced to make an emergency landing on China's southern island of Hainan with all its 24 crew unharmed while the Chinese jet crashed into the South China Sea, killing its pilot.

The incident created tension between Beijing and Washington and, after a diplomatic flurry between officials, the two countries partly resolved the problem. China -- despite protests from millions of its fervent nationalist-minded youths and members of the People's Liberation Army for being too lenient with the U.S. -- released the 24-strong American crew on "humanitarian" grounds after holding them for 11 days on the island.

This happened only after U.S. President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed deep regret at the death of the Chinese pilot Wang Wei and at the landing on Chinese soil without prior notice, but not the official apology that Beijing had demanded.

The collision happened in international airspace and, as was widely reported, both Beijing and Washington agreed that it was an accident and not a conspiracy on either side.

Accidents do happen at any time and place. The accidental collision near Hainan -- without undermining the tragic death of pilot Wang Wei who has since been lionized as a martyr -- is less serious than the accidental bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade by an American plane two years ago, which killed three Chinese people, including two journalists, and injured dozens of embassy staff members.

The Hainan incident became more complex because it happened at a time when Washington was considering arms sales to Taiwan, which China considers its breakaway province. Beijing has repeatedly and strongly opposed the planned arms sales.

Although the Bush administration has made it clear that the talks in Beijing over the spy plane incident would not affect arms sales to Taiwan, it was reported on Thursday that Bush's aides had suggested that sales of Aegis-equipped destroyers be postponed, while providing Taiwan with less-advanced weapons, so as not to worsen the already strained Sino-U.S. ties.

If Washington goes ahead with its plan of selling sophisticated arms to Taiwan, it will obviously enrage Beijing, and possibly even lead to an escalation of arms buildup in the region that would have no direct benefit for either China or the United States.

Although Thursday's 90-minute talks over the spy plane -- described by chief U.S. negotiator Peter Verga as "productive" and Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman as "very frank" -- did not come up with concrete results as to when the EP-3 reconnaissance plane will be returned to the United States, it is expected that another round of talks in the foreseeable future could break the deadlock in Sino-U.S. relations, including finding ways on how to avoid a similar accident from happening in the future.

Needless to say, strained ties between the world's only superpower and one of Asia's giants will have a negative impact not only on people in this part of the world but also on the international community.

As United Nations Secretary-General Koffi Annan put it: "We have two important countries engaged in this issue, and if this drags on ... it could have an impact on their relations in the region."

Given that both China and the United States can reap the benefits of mutually friendly and good ties -- with China enjoying billions of dollars of trade surplus and the United States finding China's vast market a haven for American goods -- there is an urgency for the two countries to resolve their problems without further damaging long-term relations and goals.