China will not be intimidated by President George W. Bush's government in the diplomatic standoff over the air collision, Cuban President Fidel Castro said on Thursday.

"If the gentlemen of the North decide to get on their high horses about this, have no doubt the Chinese will not let themselves be easily intimidated," Castro said in a two-hour speech to a world parliaments group in Havana.

If anyone thinks the Chinese are political pushovers, "that is a sign they do not know them," Castro said in a speech packed with criticisms of the Bush administration.

Castro said the spy plane incident demonstrated how the United States was increasingly displaying "a Cold War mentality" and using "aggressive terminology" at the diplomatic level" in search of total hegemony."

"Any incident, of the many which occur all over the place, could create a really serious crisis, including wars which are unthinkable," he added.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad Thursday lamented the United States' spying on China.

"I regret that there should be this incident. In the first place, it should not have happened and no country in the world would want that they be spied on," he said during his visit to the Information Ministry in Kuala Lumpur when asked to comment on the Sunday incident.

Mahathir hoped the matter can be settled by both sides.

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien criticized Bush's "cowboy-style attitude" in the current standoff with China, Canada's largest Toronto Star newspaper said Thursday.

Toronto Star said Chretien made these remarks Wednesday after Bush demanded China release the 24 crew members of the spy plane.

While insisting on the safe return of the crew members and the spy plane, US Secretary of State Colin Powell has expressed "regret" to China over the missing Chinese pilot.

A number of Hong Kong media Wednesday criticized the United States for the US spy plane's midair collision with a Chinese fighter plane, noting that the United States should hold full responsibility for the accident.

The Chinese language newspaper Wen Wei Po said in a commentary entitled "the United States should be fully responsible for the plane collision" that the US military spy plane flew close to China's Hainan province on an espionage mission, which is not a justified move.

It is very natural for the Chinese to make reaction to the US plane's hostile military action which might harm China's national security. The reaction is in line with international norms and China's sovereignty, the commentary said.

The United States should realize China's determination and ability to defend its national security and sovereignty, the commentary said. Meanwhile, the United States should further understand the importance of enhancing understanding, removing mistrust and maintaining stable relations between the two nations, it said.

Ta Kung Po, another HK-based Chinese language newspaper, said in an editorial entitled "Hegemonism Is Source of World Instabilities" that the plane collision, which appears to be accidental, is an evil consequence of the United States' pursuing hegemonism. Facts have proved once again that hegemonism is the main cause of world instabilities, it said.

Hong Kong Commercial Daily said in a commentary that the United States, which caused the plane collision, should be held full responsible for the accident. However, ironically, the United States is attempting to shift the responsibilities to the Chinese side and made many claims, the newspaper said. The newspaper urged the United States to shoulder the responsibilities for causing the collision and compensate for China's losses. The United States should also stop the dangerous game of spying along China's sea-space, it said.

HK-based Ming Pao noted in its editorial that the United States in the past year has continuously spied close to China's airspace, which is undoubtedly a provocation to China. The Chinese planes' midair tracing of foreign spy planes is an act to defend the country's territories, the newspaper said.

A Saudi Arabia newspaper has also criticized the US for its spy plane's collision with a Chinese fighter, noting that US plane was conducting the "wrong" spy activities on China.

The Arabic News said in an editorial yesterday that the US spy plane's bumping into a Chinese fighter off China's Hainan Island has clearly proved the fact that the US is conducting military spy activities on China.

The so-called "allegation" and "serious warning" made by the US government and the military can only "add too much noise" to this incident, the newspaper said.

Obviously, for years US military spy planes have been making suspicious flights close to China's border.

The fighters sent to track the US spy plane is an act in China's national interests, the paper quoted as saying Johnathan, director of the Research Center of Contemporary China in Australia's Canberra National University.

The paper also expressed the hope that China and US will settle the collision question by reasonable means and by taking the overall situation into account.

US spy plane's bumping into China's military aircraft in China's airspace is a "serious incident" involving spy activities, according to Kompas, the most influential Indonesia newspaper.

Kompas, with the largest circulation in Indonesia, said in an editorial that it is a serious incident because it involves surveillance and spy activities, which constitute a sensitive issue for state-to-state relationships.

"The US surveillance plane's reconnaissance flight over Chinese coastal areas certainly seeks the US military interests," it said.

It also noted that the collision has directly proved that the US is always conducting spy activities. Therefore, China's reaction to the US is quite reasonable.

An article carried in Madagascar Tribune yesterday condemned the US military surveillance plane for bumping into a Chinese fighter over China’s exclusive coastal economic zone.

It said that Chinese fighters were entirely justified in tracking and monitoring the U.S. spy plane, while the US plane causing the Chinese jet to crash was a provocative act, for which the US should bear full responsibility.

According to the article, the U.S. plane intruded into the Chinese territorial airspace and landed at a Chinese airport without permission. “This act violated the international law and seriously infringed upon the Chinese sovereignty. The U.S should apologize to the Chinese people,” it said.

It hoped that China and the U.S. will reasonably handle the serious incident through the diplomatic channel, so as not to aggravate the intense Sino-US relationship.

The Mexican public has paid great attention to the US spy plane bumping into and damaging a Chinese military jet. They expressed the view that the incident is yet another indication of the U.S. hegemonism.

At a press conference held on April 4 by Mexican State Government, an official said that with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the US maintains that Communism has disappeared in the world and that no one dares to oppose its hegemonism. So, it makes troubles everywhere in the world.

Whoever does not take the order of the U.S, it will teach him a lesson. In fact, China dares to oppose US hegemony and to uphold justice in the world. That is why the US has spearheaded against China.

A Mexican, working for an US newspaper, said that obviously the incident was caused by the US, whose spy plane intruded into China's airspace, bumped into a Chinese fighter to cause it to crash and landed at a Chinese airport without permission.

He said, “So, the US should bear full responsibility for the incident."

The Chairman of the Communist Party of Finland (CPF), Yrjo Hakanen, said yesterday that the U.S. military spy plane's bumping into a Chinese fighter jet over the southeast waters off China's Hainan Island grossly violated the international law.

“The CPF strongly condemns the hegemonist act of the U.S.,” he said.

Hakanen said that the U.S. has no right to conduct military spy operations over the territorial airspace of any sovereign countries including China, and interfere in their internal affairs.

“The U.S. should bear full responsibility for the incident and be denounced by all just-upholding countries, as well as the international community,” he said.

He noted that the incident has indicated once again the US's attempt to pursue hegemonism and establish a single-polar world by political, economic, military and all other possible means.

The serious incident is by no means accidental. For a long time, the US has been expanding its arms and attempting to introduce the NMD to undermine the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

The U.S. government’s militant policy is “very dangerous” and will have a serious impact on world peace and the development of international relations.

He said, “All peace-loving countries and peoples should be on high alert on this."

The CPF backs the Chinese government in its just stand in handling the collision incident.”

The U.S. should give a reasonable explanation and apologize to the Chinese people, he added.

(www.China.org.cn 4/06/2001)