The United States today gave China its proposals for a special meeting on how to avoid conflict between Chinese fighters and US surveillance planes, a US spokesman said.
The United States and China agreed to the meeting during negotiations on the fate of the US surveillance plane which made an emergency landing on Hainan island in southern China on April 1st after a collision with a Chinese fighter jet.
The forum would be a Military Maritime Commission set up to coordinate between the two militaries.
State Department spokesman Charles Hunter said the US Embassy in Beijing conveyed the proposed terms of reference to the Chinese authorities today. He gave no details of the contents nor did hesay when a meeting might take place.
The meeting is separate from diplomatic contacts on the future of the US Navy EP-3 surveillance plane, which remains on Hainan island long after China let the 24 crew members go home.
The United States insists that China return the damaged plane and has presented proposals for repairing it and bringing it back to the United States.
China has demanded that the United States stop the surveillance flights near its coast, which gather data on the state of the Chinese military.
The United States says the planes stay within international airspace and are completely legitimate.