Spy plane standoff continues, positions harden
BEIJING and WASHINGTON -- U.S. President George W.
Bush Monday warned again that relations with China could be
"damaged" by the spy plane standoff. Chinese officials
criticized the U.S. for refusing to apologize.
Bush asked Americans to be patient and not to
expect quick results in the negotiations for the
air crew.
He said, though, that the government was running out
of patience with Beijing.
"Every day that goes
by increases the
potential that our
relations with China
will be damaged," he told
reporters Monday.
According to a Newsweek report, Bush had ignored
advice by Secretary of State Colin Powell to express
regret early after the incident.
Numerous reports have surfaced regarding the accident itself.
CNN reported, quoting a Pentagon source that U.S. Navy EP-3
electronic surveillance plane was on auto-pilot before the
crash.
The South China Morning Post reported that the pilot of the
fighter jet that accompanied the downed aircraft requested
permission to shoot down the spy plane after the collision.
There were also reports of clashes between Chinese officers
with the U.S. crew after it landed in Hainan.
The Washington Times reported that the spy plane was gathering
intelligence on an upcoming Chinese nuclear test when the
incident occurred.
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