NATO bombing of the People's Republic of China embassy in Belgrade
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| NATO bombing of the People's Republic of China embassy in Belgrade | |
| Location | Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia |
|---|---|
| Date | May 7, 1999 |
| Attack type | Aerial bombing |
| Deaths | 3 |
| Injured | 20 |
| Perpetrator(s) | NATO |
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On May 7, 1999 in Operation Allied Force, Six NATO bombs hit the People's Republic of China (PRC) Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, killing three PRC citizens and outraging the PRC public. At the time of the bombing, the embassy was located in Novi Beograd – later, a new site was designated for the embassy in Dedinje. NATO later apologized for the bombing, saying that it occurred because of an outdated map provided by the CIA. Few Chinese accepted this explanation, believing the strike had been deliberate.[2]
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[edit] International Reaction
World press reaction covered a wide editorial spectrum. A report by the UK newspapers The Guardian and The Observer, and the Danish newspaper Politiken claimed that the strike was intentional.[3] Other sources, notably American media such as Washington Post, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and The Times maintained that while culpability rested with inaccurate strike planning, the attack was not deliberate.[4] International News wires such as The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France Press (AFP) published numerous reports supporting both the accidental and deliberate attack theories. The American media, however, has been widely criticized for devoting very little attention to the incident.[5] CIA director George Tenet said the operation which led to the bombing of the Chinese embassy was the only one organized and directed by his agency.[citation needed]
The three Chinese citizens killed in the attack were Shao Yunhuan (邵云环), Xu Xinghu (许杏虎) and his wife, Zhu Ying (朱颖).
[edit] Chinese reaction
The bombing sparked outrage among the public in China and provoked demonstrations outside the United States embassy in Beijing and U.S. consulates in other Chinese cities. Some of these demonstrations included throwing stones through embassy resident windows and harassing Americans leaving the Embassy. Many Chinese believed that the bombing was a way of scaring China, and asserting Western dominance over China, which has reached a level of distrust towards America.
By the end of 1999, relations began to gradually improve. In October 1999, the two sides reached agreement on humanitarian payments for families of those who died and those who were injured as well as payments for damages to respective diplomatic properties in Belgrade and China.
[edit] US response
According to the CIA, the headquarters of the Yugoslav Federal Directorate for Supply and Procurement (FDSP) - (Yugoimport SDPR) was the intended target but the process to locate the target was severely flawed. The technique to locate the coordinates of the FDSP headquarters from the street address should not have been used for aerial targeting because the method only provides an approximate location. The true location of the FDSP headquarters was about 300 meters away from calculated coordinates (the Chinese embassy). This flaw in the address location process went undetected. A secondary process to determine whether any diplomatic or other facilities off-limits to targeting were nearby was also flawed. Multiple databases within the Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense all reflected the embassy in its pre-1996 location in Belgrade. If the databases had accurately located the Chinese Embassy, the misidentification of the FDSP building would have been recognized and corrected. Three days before the bombing, an intelligence officer realized the FDSP building was a block away from the identified location but this information failed to stop the bombing because of miscommunication.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Consulate General of the United States Hong Kong & Macau (1999-08-02). "Statements on NATO Bombing of China's Embassy in Belgrade" (in english) (HTML). U.S. Department of State. http://www.usconsulate.org.hk/kosovo/statement.htm. Retrieved on 2006-10-04. (no longer available at source, text can be found here)
- ^ Peter Hays Gries (July 2001). "Tears of Rage: Chinese Nationalist Reactions to the Belgrade Embassy Bombing" (in English). The China Journal (Canberra, Australia: Contemporary China Center, Australian National University) (46): 25–43. ISSN 13249347. OCLC 41170782. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=1324-9347(200107)46%3C25%3ATORCNR%3E2.0.CO%3B2-M.
- ^ Nato bombed Chinese deliberately
- ^ Steven Lee Myers (2000-04-17). "Chinese Embassy Bombing: A Wide Net of Blame" (in English). New York: New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9801EED91431F934A25757C0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1. Retrieved on 2007-12-12.
- ^ "Chinese Embassy Bombing--Media Reply, FAIR Responds". Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting. 1999-11-03. http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1764. Retrieved on 2008-02-03.
- ^ Tenet, George (1999-07-22). "DCI Statement on the Belgrade Chinese Embassy Bombing House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Open Hearing" (HTML). Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/news-information/speeches-testimony/1999/dci_speech_072299.html. Retrieved on 2006-10-04.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- CIA takes rap for embassy attack by Martin Kettle, The Guardian, April 10, 2000
