In a signed article entitled "US must apologize to China," the paper said that the US expression of "regret" over the missing of a Chinese pilot, whose plane collided with a US spy plane last Sunday, is inadequate.

In response to the incident, the US Secretary of State Colin Powell simply called it "tragic" and did not even hint that his country should apologize, the article said.

It pointed out that Washington must apologize for this undiplomatic incident caused by the US spy plane.

It also noted that the mishandling of this incident has shown the inexperience of the US President George W. Bush's administration in its foreign policies.

This is not the first time that the US has violated the territorial integrity of other countries, it stressed, saying that US planes have done so in the past, causing loss of life and property damage.

On April 1, a US EP-3 surveillance plane bumped into a Chinese jet fighter off the coast of Hainan Island in the South China Sea. The Chinese fighter crashed and its pilot is still missing. The U. S. spy plane landed in China's Hainan island without permission.

China demands an official apology from the US for the collision.

(Xinhua 04/07/2001)