(from CNN, coming through a Japanese Netscape site using material supplied by Associated Press and Reuters :)

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By staff and wire reports

HONG KONG, China -- Crew members from a downed U.S. spy plane prepare to spend a fourth night in detention as a standoff between China and the United States drags on.

China on Wednesday asked for an apology from the United States over the collision on Sunday between an American spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet over South China.

But the United States has refused to apologize and is demanding a second meeting with 24 crew members, along with the return of its plane in a standoff that threatens to jeopardize China-U.S. relations.

The demands came shortly before Pentagon officials said the crew "successfully executed" a plan to destroy the plane's sophisticated intelligence gathering equipment, but without elaborating on what was destroyed.

Meanwhile nations such as Britain and Japan have pressed for a swift end to the dispute, amid warnings it may delay China's entry into the WTO and harm its bid for the 2008 Olympic games.

Taiwan also broke its silence on the row, saying it hoped the standoff would not harm U.S. arms sales to the island, which China considers a renegade province.

Second meeting

U.S. diplomats on Hainan Island say they have requested a second meeting with the stranded crew members of the downed EP-3E Aries II spy plane, but did not know when it will be granted.

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