U.S. Details Embassy Bombing for Chinese
Beijing Officials Remain 'Skeptical' at Washington's Explanation of
Accidental Attack
By Michael Laris
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, June 17, 1999; Page A30
BEIJING, June 17 (Thursday)—After 5 1/2 hours of meetings
detailing how the United States came to bomb the Chinese Embassy in
Belgrade, Chinese government officials remained "skeptical" that the
attack was an accident, according to a member of the U.S. presidential
delegation that offered the explanation.
The delegation of diplomats and intelligence officials, led
by Undersecretary of State Thomas R. Pickering, also delivered a letter
from President Clinton to his Chinese counterpart Jiang Zemin offering to
pay compensation to the families of those killed and injured in the May 7
bombing. The United States has also agreed to discuss the issue of the
damage done to the embassy.
The Pickering delegation held discussions with Foreign
Minister Tang Jiaxuan and Yang Jiechi, the ministry's chief diplomat
responsible for American affairs, as well as a number of Chinese military
officers. U.S. officials presented the most complete account yet of the
attack, saying that a series of mistakes over an extended period of time
was to blame. Their Chinese counterparts said they were not convinced.
"They said it was hard to believe so many things could go
wrong at the same time, and I think the American public is going to feel
the same way," said the U.S. official.
The U.S. side presented the Chinese with a report detailing
the errors, and will release the information publicly in the United States
within days, according to a U.S. official. The official emphasized that it
was not merely a faulty map that led the United States to mistakenly
target the embassy and hit it repeatedly with precision bombs. U.S.
officials first pointed to an outdated map as a key explanation for the
attack last month. Today, officials said that explanation is much too
narrow.
"It's a more complicated series of mistakes, rather than one
mistake," said the U.S. official, who spoke on background.
"It's not a faulty map. It's a more complicated set of
mistakes."
Chinese relations have taken a steep downturn following the
bombing, with China suspending a series of important military and arms
control contacts.
The U.S. delegation sought to make a clear distinction
between its efforts to explain and compensate for the bombing in an
"appropriate" fashion, and its overall relationship with China.
"We certainly don't intend to make amends for the accident
through policy concessions," said a member of the U.S. delegation. The
official added that the Chinese have not asked them for such concessions.
But in recent weeks, Chinese officials have tied a number of important
bilateral issues to the bombing.
The U.S. Embassy noted that China has agreed to discuss the
issue of damage done to U.S. property in China during four days of raucous
demonstrations following the bombing.
Regarding China's public demands that the "perpetrators" of
the bombing be held responsible, the delegation told the Chinese that the
"issue of accountability" will be addressed.
The Chinese did not ask the delegation "to come up with any
specific names or groups or institutions now," said a U.S. official.
On the fundamental question of whether Chinese leaders will
ever completely accept the U.S. explanation on the bombing, U.S. officials
were pessimistic.
"We don't have any illusions that they will turn around on a
dime and say, 'Oh, we were wrong. We see the light,' " said one member of
the delegation.
"It may be in the end that we have to agree to disagree,"
added another member of the delegation.
© Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company
