In 2001, an unauthorized reconnaissance aircraft appeared over the South China Sea. This reconnaissance plane was equipped with the most advanced reconnaissance equipment in the world at that time, and it was infuriating that it trespassed into China's airspace without authorization, and it was obviously not a lost or accidental mistake, but a premeditated violation.
In early April, the Chinese side spotted the activities of a suspicious EP-3 military reconnaissance aircraft over the territory of Hainan Island. Although 20 years have passed since the plane collision incident, we can imagine the tremendous challenges faced by Wang Wei, the guardian of the sea and air at that time.
In the face of this US-standard military reconnaissance plane, Wang Wei immediately flew a Jian-8 fighter to track and monitor, and Comrade Zhao Yu acted with him. Arrogance and prejudice were intertwined, but the two fighter planes sent by the Chinese side still firmly monitored and warned the US reconnaissance plane.
After warning the US reconnaissance plane many times, the other side not only did not leave, but flew in violation of the law and suddenly changed direction. The Chinese pilot, Wang Wei, reacted instantly, but the nose of the opponent's plane still crashed into the fighter plane piloted by Wang Wei, causing serious damage to the fighter plane and Wang Wei also disappeared in the South China Sea.
The US reconnaissance plane was forced to land at the Hainan Island airfield due to illegal flights, its fuselage was damaged. This bad attitude is obviously an attempt to steal China's military intelligence, and any unspeakable conspiracy will be exposed in the counter-investigation equipped with advanced equipment.
The US side detained the plane and personnel after the US reconnaissance plane made a forced landing, and the responsibility for this incident lies entirely with the US side. Although the Chinese side has consulted with the US side many times, the US side has always taken a bad attitude, refused to apologize, and demanded that the Chinese side return the plane after repair.
In the face of such unreasonable demands, we are resolute and uncompromising. At the same time, we are highly concerned about the unclear purpose of the US operation. Immediately after the incident, we asked to meet with the U.S. Ambassador to China and made our position clear.
The United States did not respond to this incident in a timely manner, while the United States demanded that we return the plane and personnel as soon as possible, which is infuriating. What is even more unacceptable is that the whereabouts of our pilot are still unknown.
The incident itself carries serious political problems, but the United States still has not given any explanation, and even put on a great power posture and refused to apologize. Despite our many negotiations, the two sides remain deadlocked.
It was not until April 3 that the United States made a statement in a televised speech, but the content was only for the sake of the interests of the United States, and they even demanded that we return the plane and refuel it.
In this statement, the US side did not propose a satisfactory solution to the problem. Worse still, they showed indifference by not mentioning the sacrifices of the Chinese pilots.
This impudent behavior infuriated China, which apparently did not take us seriously despite its backward development at the time. The United States has repeatedly provoked China, tried to provoke a war, and once again drawn us into chaos.
However, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, China was no longer a backward and beaten semi-colonial and semi-feudal country. Therefore, we remain tough on China: the United States must apologize!
The U.S. Secretary of State said at the time that the incident was purely accidental, that it happened under an emergency situation, so the United States did not need to apologize. However, this question is still open, so let's analyze the situation at that time.
First of all, judging from the size of the plane, the US reconnaissance plane was obviously larger than the fighter piloted by pilot Wang Wei, but after our pilot issued a warning, the other side did not leave, but deliberately collided with our plane, and this is indisputable.
Secondly, the flight distance and route of both sides were normal, how could there be a collision? This was due to the fact that during the flight, the reconnaissance aircraft in front did not follow the flight rules and suddenly turned around.
In the process of the plane's turning, the angle of horizontal flight will change, which is like a wall suddenly appearing in Wang Wei's field of vision, and it is difficult for him to make a braking reaction in a short time to avoid this reconnaissance aircraft.
If calculated by the speed of the fighter's flight, such an evasion is almost impossible. Finally, out of consideration for the overall situation, the Chinese fighter always remained on its flight trajectory, and although the American pilots destroyed a large amount of intelligence in the reconnaissance plane, the Chinese side did not shoot it down.
Even though the device may be damaged, the core data cannot be destroyed. When we discovered their whereabouts, we immediately surrounded them. The landing of this plane was actually a provocation to China's airspace and Sino-US relations, but the United States did not restrain itself.
They threatened that only by returning the plane intact would it not affect Sino-US relations. What is even more odious is that the United States has once again resumed reconnaissance of China's coastal waters.
All these unreasonable acts show the sinister intentions of the United States. In the face of all this, China has decided to treat others the way they want to go.
China's success in disassembling the American plane into parts demonstrates its strength and determination. Despite the dissatisfaction expressed by the US side, the Chinese side insisted on dismantling the aircraft and taking concrete actions to implement it.
In the end, the US side took the most practical approach, renting a long-range transport plane in Russia and sending more than 10 technicians to Hainan Lingshui Airport to dismantle it.
After more than 10 days, the majestic EP-3 aircraft was finally disassembled into a pile of parts and transported to the transport plane by various appliances and equipment.
We have lost a heroic pilot who defended the sovereignty of our airspace with his life and demonstrated our country's strong steps from backwardness to development. We will not choose to back down or stand idly by in the face of any act that threatens our sovereignty.
Although China is still developing, we firmly believe that China will emerge stronger in the challenges ahead.