China Defence Minister repeats calls for U.S. apology

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) - Chinese Defence Minister Chi Haotian has repeated calls for the U.S. to apologise over the mid-air collision between a U.S. spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet, state media said.	    "The U.S. should apologise to the Chinese people and take effective measures to avoid another similar (incidents) from happening," the official Xinhua news agency quoted Chi as saying.	    He told visiting Brazilian Defence Minister Graldo Magela Da Cruz Quintao that U.S. surveillance planes frequently fly close to the Chinese coast on reconnaissance missions and China was justified in tracking and monitoring them.	    Chi said that the U.S. plane had "violated flight rules" when it "veered suddenly at the Chinese planes from a wide angle," Xinhua reported.	    He added that the government is very concerned about Chinese pilot Wang Wei who has been missing since his plane crashed in the incident last Sunday, and would continue to search for him.	    Yuan Guoqin, Wang's wife, met Chi on Saturday, and has sent a letter condemning the incident to President Bush, calling him a "coward" for refusing to apologise.	    Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen sent a sternly worded letter to the U.S. State Department on Saturday that reportedly says "the U.S. side should face up to the facts, adopt a positive and practical attitude, and apologize to the Chinese people."	    Washington has expressed its regret over the loss of the Chinese pilot but has insisted it will not apologise.

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