950803

Christopher refuses

to comment on

China's expulsion

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, (Brunei): US Secretary of State Warren Christopher refused direct comment on Wednesday on China's expulsion of two American air force officers by China but suggested Washington did not view the development ominously.

"I have nothing for you on that at all," Christopher told reporters when asked about Beijing's announcement that it was expelling the two officers it said were caught spying in restricted military zones along its southeast coast.

Moments later, however, asked to give his assessment of US-China relations after a crucial meeting Tuesday with Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen, Christopher said:

"The US-China relationship has a good chance to regain the momentum that we had before" the row that erupted over Washington's decision to let Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui visit the United States in June, he said.

"I feel that the tone of the meeting and the sense that I felt both of us recognise that this relationship was too important for us not to manage the problems we had, effectively brought us to the conclusion that we had to find a basis for resolving our problems and going forward," he added.

US officials are known to have been aware of the expulsions before the talks with Qian. It is understood that neither side raised the subject during the 90-minute meeting.

Joseph Wei Chan, an air force liaison officer, and Dwayne Howard Florenzie, assistant air force liaison officer of the US Consulate-General in Hong Kong would be expellled within 24 hours, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang said.

The two men applied for entry visas on the grounds of holding consultations with the US embassy and consulate- general personnel in China, Shen was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency.

After entering China on July 23, they "sneaked into a number of restricted military zones in China's southeast coastal areas and illegally acquired military intelligence by photographing and video-taping," Shen was quoted as saying.

They were caught "on the spot " on July 29 by Chinese soldiers, he said.-Reuter