But China's Communist government offered no indication of that, and on Wednesday, Chinese President Jiang Zemin demanded that the United States apologize for the collision. Rear Adm. Quigley said it was unclear what caused the collision with the Chinese F-8 fighter jet, which crashed into the sea. The fighter pilot was missing. Immediately after the incident, which occurred Saturday night Dallas time, U.S. officials said the EP-3E had suffered damage to its left wing and that the fault must lie with the more nimble Chinese fighter plane. The EP-3E is a lumbering turboprop plane the size of an airliner.
China also maintains that the U.S. plane was in Chinese airspace.
U.S. officials insist the Navy aircraft was in international airspace on a routine surveillance mission. Ambassador Prueher, a retired Navy admiral, said on CBS-TV's The Early Show that the United States should offer no apology. Marriott said, suggesting that the Chinese fighter jet caused the collision. He also said it would have no effect on an upcoming Bush administration decision on what to include in an annual arms sale to Taiwan. U.S.-China relations already were under strain because of Chinese fears Mr. Bush will approve the sale to Taiwan of warships equipped with sophisticated radar.