China and the United States blamed each other for a mid-air collision over the South China Sea between a US spy plane carrying 24 crew and a Chinese fighter on an interception mission. China issued an angry statement saying the fighter crashed after being rammed by the US aircraft, which made an emergency landing on the southern Chinese island of Hainan. Rescuers were searching for the missing Chinese pilot.
But the head of the US Pacific Command, Admiral Dennis Blair, said it was probably an accident caused by the fighter bumping into the American plane. "If I had to guess right now, I would say it's an accident, it's not a normal practice to play bumper cars in the air, it's too dangerous for everybody," Blair told a news conference in Hawaii.

Blair complained that routine Chinese interceptions had become more aggressive over the past several months "to the point that we felt that they were endangering the safety of Chinese and American aircraft." Meanwhile, US diplomats were scrambling to Hainan to try to get access to the 24 crew on board the EP-3 maritime patrol plane who were all reported safe after Sunday's drama.
The US officials have called for the immediate release of the crew along with the plane and its top-secret equipment.
The incident threatened to damage China-US relations at a delicate time when US President Bush is weighing his strategy toward China and faces a crucial decision on whether to sell advanced weapon systems to Taiwan. Bureau Report