China told the US yesterday not to complicate a dispute over a US spy plane held on Hainan island by calling the 24 detained crew "hostages" and threatening to disrupt trade relations.
"I hope the unnecessary linking of this incident with other issues will not further complicate the whole situation so as not to hinder the China-US relationship," Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi (孫玉璽) told a news conference.
"We hope the US side will not further complicate this issue," he said on the 10th day of a standoff over the US Navy surveillance plane that made an emergency landing on Hainan after a collision with a Chinese jet fighter.
Sun was responding to questions about statements from US Secretary of State Colin Powell that China's trade with the US could be hurt by the dispute and from powerful Illinois Republican Congressman Henry Hyde calling the 24 crew "hostages."
Sun said Powell's use of the word sorry when referring to the death of a Chinese fighter pilot as a result of the collision was a step towards resolving the standoff.
But he repeated that Washington must apologize for the incident.
"The US use of the word sorry is a step in the right direction, but we don't think this issue is fully solved. We still urge the US to take a positive attitude and take the stance of the Chinese side seriously," Sun said.
"Since the US side has done something wrong first, it is purely their responsibility to apologize."
Sun repeated China's official account of the April 1 collision -- that the US plane veered suddenly into the Chinese fighter, then entered Chinese airspace and landed in Hainan without authorization.
The plane had violated the UN convention on maritime law and a China-US agreement on avoidance of dangerous military acts at sea, he said. "We maintain the incident was purely caused by the US side because of its erroneous acts," he said. "The US side should apologize instead of seeking excuses to avoid responsibility."
New information from the US side contradicted China's version of events.
A senior Pentagon official told Cable News Network (CNN) that it was unclear whether the spy plane was turning or flying straight and level when the two planes collided. The official, said the US plane was on "autopilot" at the time of the collision.
Pentagon sources quoted by CNN said US officials have learned from the US crew detained in China that the Chinese jets were not "flying straight and level," but performing various dangerous maneuvers when they intercepted their spy plane.
The officials, CNN said, did not describe the movements of the Chinese jets.
The news channel also reported that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan offered to help resolve the standoff over the plane collision.
Meanwhile, US diplomats held a fifth meeting yesterday with the detained crew of the plane.
US military attache Brigadier General Neal Sealock said he and consular official Ted Gong held 40 minutes of discussions with the 24 crew members of the EP-3 surveillance plane in Haikou, the capital of Hainan.
"Their spirits remain high," Sealock said after returning to his hotel in Haikou.
He said the crew had received new e-mails from family members back home, and that they were being held in "extremely good conditions."
"They have great faith in what is taking place. They fully understand the circumstances they are under," he added.
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