U.S. Expresses Regret; But Makes No Apology

April 4 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell today expressed "regret" over the loss of a Chinese pilot, but Beijing and Washington continue their war of wills over an American spy plane and crew detained in Chinese territory.

Tensions have been rising ever since a U.S. Navy EP-3E Aries II made an emergency landing on a Chinese island early Sunday. After colliding with the American aircraft, a Chinese fighter jet crashed into the sea and its pilot is missing.

At issue appears to be the matter of an apology. China has demanded one from the United States, but the Bush administration maintains that a mea culpa is out of the question and has reiterated its call for the release of the 24 crewmembers and high-tech U.S. surveillance plane.

In a brief statement outside the U.S. Department of State today, Powell said the United States regretted the Chinese pilot's death.

"We regret that the Chinese plane did not get down safelyand we regret the loss of the life of that Chinese pilot but now we need to move on and we need to bring this to aresolution," Powell told reporters in Washington today.

Shortly afterwards, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer dismissed notions that the United States is softening its stance on the issue.

Fleischer said Powell's comments already had been expressed by the U.S. ambassador to the Chinese foreign minister and that there was no change in Washington's position on the incident. "Anytime there is an apparent loss of a service man, the United States government's position is clear. And we have said that previously in regard to this accident."

Fleischer reiterated Washington's refusal to issue an apology for the incident. "The United States doesn't understand the reason for an apology," said Fleischer. "Our airplanes are operating in international airspace, and theUnited States did nothing wrong."

An Official Demand

Fleischer's comments came in the wake of a meeting between U.S. Ambassador to China, Joseph Prueher, and Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan early today, when Tang issued an official demand for an apology.