|
On April 1, 2001, the Hainan Island incident occurred when a mid-air collision between a United States Navy EP-3E ARIES II signals intelligence aircraft and a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) J-8II interceptor fighter jet resulted in an international dispute between the United States of America and the People's Republic of China. The EP-3 was operating about away from the PRC island province of Hainan, and about away from the Chinese military installation in the Paracel Islands, when it was intercepted by two J-8 fighters. A collision between the EP-3 and one of the J-8s caused the death of a PRC pilot, and the EP-3 was forced to make an emergency landing on Hainan. The 24 crew members were detained and interrogated by the Chinese authorities until a statement was delivered by the United States government regarding the incident. The exact phrasing of this document was intentionally ambiguous and allowed both countries to save face while defusing a potentially volatile situation between militarily strong regional states.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url = http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2001/04/12/china )〕 ==Background== The United States and the People's Republic of China disagree on the legality of the overflights by U.S. naval aircraft of the area where the incident occurred. This part of the South China Sea comprises part of the PRC's exclusive economic zone based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The PRC is a signatory to this Convention and though the United States is not, according to naval officials it "operate()...within the provisions of the Law of the Sea Convention in every area related to navigation".〔(Citizens for Global Solutions ), retrieved April 4, 2009〕 Part V, Article 58 of the Convention states in relation to exclusive economic zones that: "all States...enjoy...the freedoms...of navigation and overflight", but notes that "States...shall comply with the laws and regulations adopted by the coastal State...in so far as they are not incompatible with this Part."〔(【引用サイトリンク】url = http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/closindx.htm )〕 The PRC interprets the Convention as allowing it to preclude other nations' military operations within this area, but the United States maintains that the Convention grants free navigation for all countries' aircraft and ships, including military aircraft and ships, within a country's exclusive economic zone. A PRC Sukhoi Su-27 force is based at Hainan.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url = http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/wuhu.htm )〕 The island also houses a large signals intelligence facility which tracks U.S. activity in the area and monitors traffic from commercial communications satellites.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url = http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/lingshui.htm )〕 As early as May 22, 1951, Hainan was targeted at the behest of U.S. Naval Intelligence for RAF photo-reconnaissance overflights, using Spitfire PR Mk 19s based at Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong.〔Peebles, Curtis, ''Shadow Flights: America's Secret Air War Against the Soviet Union'': Presidio Press, 2001. pp. 16-18 ISBN 0-89141-768-0〕 This sea area includes the South China Sea Islands, which are claimed by the PRC and several other countries. It is one of the most strategically sensitive areas in the world. The US aircraft was widely described in the media as a "spy plane", but its pilot Shane Osborn later disagreed with this, saying "I wouldn't call it spying. I mean, there's no hiding that EP-3. If you've seen that thing, it's not hard to figure out where that's at. We don't fly high, we don't fly fast, and we put a pretty good radar return off all those antennas and dishes hanging off of our plane."〔http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/china/interviews/osborn.html〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hainan Island incident」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|