Some US secrets were lost from a US Navy EP-3 surveillance plane that landed in China, but the extent of the breach is still being assessed, a Pentagon spokesman said today.
Pentagon analysts have been examining information provided by the plane's 24-member crew after their release by China. They were held for 11 days following the April 1st collision between the EP-3 and a Chinese fighter aircraft.
The $80 million US aircraft, which is full of sophisticated electronics, made an emergency landing on China's Hainan Island. The United States has said it wants the aircraft returned.
US government sources told reporters yesterday the crew had not been able to destroy as much of the secret material on board as first believed and that it could be exploited by Beijing.
Shortly after the crew was released, Defense Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld said the crew went through the checklist for such situations and did everything possible in the time they had to ensure secret data did not fall into Chinese hands.