US refuses to apologise over spy plane collision

The US has refused to apologise to the Chinese government for an incident in which a US spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said there is no need for an apology and the plane's crew had done nothing wrong.

Mr Fleischer said at a meeting with Chinese foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan, the US ambassador Joseph Prueher had refused to apologise for the incident.

The ambassador repeated President George W Bush's demand for the return of the US plane, which made an emergency landing after the collision on Sunday.

China maintains the 24-man crew is being held in protective custody and that the US should apologise for the incident that landed them there.

"This accident has the potential of undermining our hopes for a fruitful and productive relationship between our two countries," Mr Bush said on Tuesday. "To keep that from happening, our servicemen and women need to come home."

US diplomatic representatives have met the crew members on China's Hainan Island and reported them to be in good health. Chinese officials have refused to allow the American officials to meet alone with the crew members and have not allowed them to contact their families in the US.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, using harsher language than the White House, called the meeting a positive step but said the crew remained in "detention."

"They're being held incommunicado under circumstances that I don't find acceptable," Gen Powell said. "The Chinese have said they're being protected - I don't know from what. In my judgment, they're being detained."

The Chinese have raised the volume of their call for an apology with President Jiang Zemin making the demand for the first time publicly.