You have to be kidding me.
You don't seriously advocate that a nuclear power gets its rules of engagement from a scene in Hollywood?
China is a nuclear power, they have a duty to act in a responsible way, especially during intercepts. That is how misunderstandings are avoided. There is no way that china could have been following protocol and been rammed by a P3 even if the p3's crew life depended on hitting the chinese fighter.
More importantly we thought they wanted to be friends. After all they want to be a most favored nation. If it was a british plane we would have sent the crew home, had our crew landed in a british base they would have been repatriated immediately.
We needed china as a buffer against the Soviets, that is why Nixon went to china. We don't NEED china at all anymore, if they want to act like enemies, fine lets be enemies. Lets atleast be honest about it.
That is what no one is getting here.
Cheers
Wino
[This message has been edited by Wino (edited 19 April 2001).]