The recent collision between a Chinese jet fighter and a U. S. Navy EP-3 reconnaissance plane over the South China Sea has revealed a most sobering fact. The national media, while performing an adequate job of reporting on the political dynamics within our nation’s capitol, on the diplomatic exchanges between Beijing and Washington, and on the anxieties of wives, girlfriends and parents waiting at home, failed miserably in providing an accurate account of the incident. Whether through ignorance, stupidity or a generally careless attitude towards the proper use of the written word, the media has done a major disservice to our nation.

First of all, the national media insists on referring to the damaged U.S. aircraft, a 45-year-old four-engine, turbo-prop, as a “spy plane.” The U-2 and the SR-71 are spy planes. They are designed to fly over hostile territory and depend on speed and altitude to prevent interception. Such flights are covert, done in secret. We don’t tell the world where such flights are going.

In contrast, the EP-3 flies over friendly territory or international waters in plain sight. The crew must file a flight plan for any portion of the flight through controlled airspace. There are no secrets about these flights. Nor are they unique to the United States. We have been flying such surveillance flights for many years. So have the Russians, the Japanese, the Chinese and many other countries. It’s a simple part of military preparedness to know what capabilities other countries might have. It is an accepted part of international law that such flights, so long as they remain in international waters, are to be tolerated.

For many years we observed such flights by Russian “Bear” aircraft along our coasts. We sent up aircraft to intercept them, took pictures and let them go about their business. The same principle holds true for Russian trawlers engaged in electronic surveillance which shadowed our carrier task forces during the Vietnam conflict.

The media's insistence on calling this a “spy plane,” whether through a simple lack of knowledge or stupidity, has done our nation a grave disservice. The Chinese government was quick to jump on these pronouncements in our national press as “proof” that we were engaged in some sort of illegal activity.

Second, the way the media has reported this unfortunate accident has put a totally wrong spin on what actually happened. From interviews with the pilot and crew, we know the EP-3 was flying straight and level at 22,000 feet and 180 knots indicated air speed. From all the reports, the Chinese pilot was attempting a “pop-up” maneuver, where he approached the EP-3 from underneath with the intent to pop-up just in front of the American plane. This is a standard harassment tactic, often used by our F-4 and F- 15 aircraft against Russian surveillance planes.

U.S. pilots are better trained. The Chinese pilot apparently miscalculated his maneuver, and his plane hit the No. 1 prop on the EP-3. The collision also jammed the port aileron of the EP-3 in the full up position, and then knocked off the nose cone covering the radar units. The Chinese fighter then spun out of control, and while the pilot bailed out, unfortunately he was not recovered.

The way the media reports this again distorts the truth. Consider these three statements: The US “spy” plane collided with the Chinese fighter; the Chinese fighter collided with the U.S. “spy” plane; The U.S. plane and the Chinese plane collided.

The third statement is neutral as to the responsibility for the accident. But the other two certainly are not. Can you see the difference in the implication? The first statement plants the idea that the U.S. plane initiated the action and caused the collision. This is totally wrong. Yet the national media rocks along, very stupidly reporting that “the US spy plane collided with the Chinese fighter.” The Chinese government has quickly jumped on this as “proof” it was our fault. And our hot-shot national reporters have never figured this out!

I think if people reach the point in their profession that they are allowed to write or to report for the national media, then it is incumbent on them to know what the hell they are saying and how it will read. If they can’t understand the subtleties in the English language, then perhaps they should seek another profession. The international consequences of their work is too great to allow such inept performance. Back in World War II, there was a slogan that “loose lips sinks ships.” Maybe we should go back to something similar, such as “stupid reporting can cause trouble around the world.”

(Manning lives in Waynesville and can be reached at arnanning@asap-com.com)

 

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