Some observers see another Cold Warlike balance of powers as the possible outcome.
On April 1, 2001, an American Navy EP-3E surveillance plane on patrol along the China coast in international airspace collided with a Chinese F-8 fighter. The fighter crashed into the sea and the pilot, Wang Wei, was killed, while the severely damaged surveillance plane, code name "Peter Rabbit," made an emergency landing on Hainan Island. American pilot Lieutenant Shane Osborn followed international rules by making a distress call and attempting to contact the Chinese airfield on Hainan for permission to land, but got no response. Chinese officials then detained Osborn and his crew of 23 for 11 days, while the aircraft was taken apart. The intelligence-gathering plane was returned in pieces to the United States on Russian cargo planes after being inspected by Chinese officials.
The Chinese leadership in Beijing insisted from the outset that its airspace had been violated when the American plane landed on Hainan without permission. It demanded an apology for the incursion and for the death of pilot Wang. President George W. Bush (2001-) expressed "sorrow" for the loss of life, and the American government announced its "regret" over the incident, but refused to use the word "apologize."
In China Wang Wei became a symbol of national pride, his widow and child prominently positioned in the various media, while in the United States the returning air crew received a well-publicized hero's welcome.
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