Nightline: Daily E-mail (4/3)

W A S H I N G T O N, April 3 -- As I write this, at 2:15 p.m. ET, the story of the downed spy plane on a remote Chinese island is still developing, with no obvious end in sight.

Earlier today, U.S. officials were allowed to meet the 24 crew members for the first time since a midair collision three days ago. A Pentagon briefing on the matter, which just ended a few minutes ago, gave no hint that a release is imminent.

One reporter asked the briefer what seemed to us here in our newsroom to be a great question: what do you call the 24 crewmen? Hostages? Detainees? Guests? The briefer ably avoided answering the question. But as their involuntary stay on Hainan Island continues into Day Four, one has to wonder. As a broadcast born out of a hostage crisis 21 years ago in another part of the world, that is a strange possibility.

Correspondent Chris Bury is preparing a report that will examine the tense recent history of U.S.-China relations. The spy vs. spy game that we are ensnared in now is awfully familiar. Planes shadowing each other on the edge of international airspace. Accusations of espionage and counterespionage. Is it as bad as the Cold War? Are the Chinese the new Russians for America in the 21st century? Or is vigilant intelligence gathering simply a constant necessity?

We hope you'll join us.

Sara Just is a senior producer of Nightline.