US Navy – US diplomats have met with the crew of the EP-3; the plane was said to have been severely damaged by the collision; China refuses to release the crew or the aircraft and is said to be stripping equipment from the plane.

This is the first air-to-air collision between US and Chinese aircraft; but US and Chinese forces nearly came to blows in 1994 which resulted in a Military Maritime Consultation Agreement which was signed between the two countries in 1998.

The commander of the squadron the plane was assigned to says the Chinese pilot must have caused the accident.

Meanwhile, the damage to intelligence collection is potentially huge.

• CNN: Navy crew struggled to land severely damaged plane
• Los Angeles Times: Encounters Routine for U.S. Patrol Missions
• Seattle Post Intelligencer: U.S. squadron leader says Chinese flier got too close
• MSNBC: China Syndrome