US agrees to have spy plane shipped home

China and the United States have agreed to have a US Navy spy plane disassembled and shipped home.

The spy plane is at a Chinese air base where it has been held since an April 1 collision with a Chinese fighter jet.

A Chinese government spokesman made the announcement today but gave gave no details and the US Embassy in Beijing had no immediate comment.

US technicians had concluded the EP-3E electronic surveillance plane could fly home from Hainan Island. But Beijing rejected that option, possibly trying to punish Washington for the incident by forcing it to destroy its aircraft in the process of retrieving it.

The collision over the South China Sea killed the Chinese fighter pilot, and plunged Sin-US relations to their lowest level since the Nato bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in 1999.

The spy plane made an emergency landing at a Chinese air base on Hainan island in the South China Sea following the collision. Its 24 crew members were held for 10 days before being released 11 days later.