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China loses face over fumbles in search for missing Malaysian airplane

China loses face over fumbles in search for missing Malaysian airplane

Posted April. 17, 2014 03:28,   

한국어

China has lost its face in its attempt to build an image as a superpower in the hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the missing Malaysia Airlines plane. The New York Times reported Monday that countries participating in the search operation have growing doubts about China`s competence.

China has been participating in the multinational search effort since the early stages, mobilizing large amounts of manpower and equipment, as 154 of the 239 missing passengers are Chinese, including Taiwanese nationals. The operation was also a good opportunity for China to show off its navy`s technological prowess.

However, the New York Times reported that China revealed only the weakness of its capabilities. In the first week of the search, China released satellite photographs of what it claimed were the debris of the missing airplane. However, it later turned out to be unrelated debris.

On April 4 and 5, China reported that it had detected twice underwater signals with the radio frequency of 37.5 kHz that might have come from the missing plane`s black box. Other participating countries actively supported China, surprised by its technological competence. British and Australian aircrafts immediately searched the area around where China detected the signal. However, no trace of the Malaysian plane was found. Finally, the U.S. Navy was able to locate the signal around 4,500 meters below surface, using its towed pinger locator.

In the first place, Haixun 01, a Chinese government search vessel, was capable of detecting sound signals within several kilometers below surface, far short of the depth from which the signal was coming from.

The New York Times quoted a search official as saying that China slowed down the investigation by providing false leads at a time when the black box signals could be detected, adding that the opportunity to narrow down the search scope was lost because of China.