The United States is sending China about US$34,000 to pay for support of a crippled US Navy surveillance aircraft that collided with a Chinese fighter jet in April, US officials said on Thursday.

The officials, who asked not to be identified, told reporters there was no word yet on whether China would accept the payment, which was en route to the US Embassy in Beijing for transmission to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Navy Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, a Defense Department spokesman, told reporters at the Pentagon's regular briefing that "an appropriate amount of money" was being sent to the Chinese. But he declined to discuss the amount.

The crippled US Navy EP-3 spy plane landed on China's Hainan Island on April 1 after colliding with a fighter jet over South China Sea. It was dismantled and flownback to the United States for repairs on July 3.

The 24-member EP-3 crew stayed in China for 11 days after the collision in a standoff that roiled US-China relations in the first months of the administration of President George W. Bush.

The crew were sent home after proper investigation.

"We are giving them a figure, a total figure that we feel is an appropriate amount of money for some of the support that they provided to us during that period of time," Quigley told reporters.

"And where we felt that there was a fair value provided by the Chinese, we tried to provide a fair dollar value to that service. And that is what the total represents." Quigley said.

(Chinadaily.com.cn 08/20/2001)