U.S. should not apologize for crash

China has blamed the United States and demanded an apology for the collision of a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft and a Chinese fighter jet. Because few details of the crash are known, and China refuses to release 24 Americans who were on the plane, this request is unreasonable. \nInformation about how the incident occurred is still unclear, and little has been discovered that would determine definite fault on either side. According to The Washington Post, a U.S. plane loaded with surveillance equipment collided in international airspace with a much smaller Chinese plane that was shadowing it. Preliminary investigations have shown that the Chinese jet was flying closely beneath the U.S. plane, and that a hard bank by the U.S. plane triggered the crash. The issue of which plane actually caused the crash is still in question. \nAfter the crash, the U.S. plane then performed an emergency landing on the Chinese island of Hainan, and its crew members were arrested by armed Chinese guards. Chinese officials are still searching for their plane and pilot.\nGiven this lack of information on fault, the United States has no reason to apologize and accept responsibility.\nThese reconnaissance flights are well known throughout the world, and should be no surprise to Beijing. The United States regularly flies over international waters on surveillance missions, and these flights are vital to U.S. national security interests. \nPresident George W. Bush said Monday morning that holding the American crew and airplane hostage indefinitely is damaging to relations between our countries. The United States has expressed its regrets for the death of the Chinese pilot, who is still missing and presumed dead, and is seeking a joint investigation to find an explanation for the events.\nChina needs to realize that while the accident was unfortunate, the United States was not infringing on its territory rights by flying over international waters. To apologize and accept responsibility for an incident where fault has not been established is unreasonable. It's time for the Chinese to accept the U.S. proposal and move on.\nStaff vote: 10 - 2 - 1