-Caveat Lector- US rejects China's $1m plane bill A giant Russian cargo plane brought the pieces back The United States is refusing to pay China a bill of $1m to cover expenses incurred while a US spy plane was on Chinese soil. A State Department official said the US Government had no intention of paying the bill, which covers costs over a period of three months. It's nice to know they have a sense of humour US official The 1 April collision with a Chinese fighter jet and the subsequent detention of the EP-3 plane and its crew on Hainan island in southern China triggered a tense stand-off between the US and China. The $80m plane was dismantled and flown back to the US this week. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the US official said China's expenses claim was "exaggerated". "It's nice to know they have a sense of humour," he said. Diplomatic row His comment came a day after Rear Admiral Craig Quigley, a Pentagon spokesman, said the administration was prepared to reimburse China for reasonable costs. The spokesman at the Chinese Embassy was unavailable for comment on the rejection of the bill. Lockheed Martin engineers dismantled the spy plane The spy plane incident caused a row between the US and China shortly after US President George W Bush came to office. The impasse ended only after Washington said it was "very sorry" that the pilot of the Chinese jet had died and that the US Navy plane had landed without permission. Passions cooled after the crew of 24 was released, but China refused to allow the plane to be flown off Hainan island, though engineers said the plane could be repaired. The dismantled parts of the plane are now at Dobbins Air Force Base in the southern US state of Georgia. They were flown there by a chartered Russian Antonov-124 cargo plane. The Naval Air Systems Command has estimated structural repairs to the aircraft will take eight to 12 months. After that, the plane will be flown to Waco, Texas, for an electronic systems upgrade. US security personnel will also examine the plane, which was loaded with surveillance equipment, to assess what data the Chinese may have obtained. US officials have said the crew destroyed much of the plane's surveillance equipment and erased sensitive data soon after landing. But the Pentagon has acknowledged that some secrets were lost. US Secretary of State Colin Powell will visit China later this month ahead of a visit by President Bush in October. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
