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NNNNNNG - Wrong answer Patrick.
What the US plane was doing, flying well outside Chinese airspace, was most likely gaining signals intelligence, radar pictures of the island's base facilities, communications, and the like. The media has jumped all over the "Spy Plane" bit. The old U2 or SR71s can be called spy planes as they actually violated the air space of other countries but a seriously non-performing prop plane like the P3 which is so slow and noticeable is hardly a "spy plane".
Those flights go on all of the time between us, the russians, the chinese, japanese, and every other nation that can wind up a rubber band and get a plane into the air. This is not an instance where the US has gone over the edge of acceptable behavior. These practices of intelligence gathering happen all over the world in all forms. Prior to the fall of the Wall, don't you think Nato/US was listening in on eastern europe from Berlin? You betcha. Did the Soviets run their aircraft and ships off our coasts on the way to Cuba? Yup. Do the Chinese fly their planes & park their ships off Taiwan and Japan and take a little listen? Good answer.
This is also not staffing an embassy with spies stuffing secret micro film under a park bench, but a common practice that has been going on ever since the first fellow that tried to break some other tribe's smoke signal code.
As far as Hansen, I hope is tried publically and if guilty (sure sounds like it) spends an awful long time as somebody's girlfriend courtesy of the US Federal Prison system.
When there is a collision and an aircraft, military or otherwise, needs to land, a "civilized" country will not hold the occupants to the point that they cannot contact anyone. A "civilized" nation would not do that.
Don't expect the Chinese to behave all fair and honest in this - the US will not be called a Saint by any means but our track record is a hell of alot better than China's in these situations...
That whole propaganda bit about the Navy plane causing the collision: crap. That Navy plane would be hard pressed to suprise that Chinese fighter in ANY kind of mannouvre. 10 to 1 that Chinese fighter screwed up and hit the US plane. Otherwise he must have fell asleep at the wheel (the Chinese guy). I do hope they find him but if he has not turned up yet, chances, sadly, are getting worse. The news sites say he ejected properly. I sincerly hope the Chinese do not hold the American pilot responsible for this...
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