Asia-Pacific News

US mistakenly shipped nuclear missile components to Taiwan

Mar 25, 2008, 15:30 GMT

Washington - The United States mistakenly shipped components that would be used in a nuclear missile to Taiwan and quickly recovered the four assemblies after learning of the incident last week, US officials said Tuesday.

The assemblies did not include any nuclear or fissile material, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne told reporters at the Pentagon, adding that an investigation has launched into the mishap.

US Pacific Command regained custody of the items within hours after learning of the mistake, Lieutenant General Carter Ham of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

'When we became fully aware of the circumstances of these mis- shipped items, US personnel took action to first secure and then to regain custody of the items,' Ham said.

The officials said China has been notified of the incident.

Wynne said the items were shipped to Taiwan in the fall of 2006 and had been hold in storage until the Americans were notified of the four containers.



COMMENT

blog comments powered by Disqus

Latest Headlines in Asia-Pacific

Older Talkback

page: 1 

SP4:Mar 25th, 2008 - 16:27:20

...whoops!

Report this comment

Taiwanese PatriotMar 25th, 2008 - 16:33:38

Mistakenly? More like Chen Shui-bian ordered them probably to create weapons of mass destruction :P

Report this comment

ReMar 25th, 2008 - 17:19:03

Oh please!! That's insulting! Even many of the harshest Chen critics don't buy your story!

Report this comment

Joe in CAMar 26th, 2008 - 03:56:33

'Mistakenly?' How could you 'mistakenly' send such crucial things anywhere? What was the error? Sending the missiles to Taiwan? Or being found out? 'Oops.' OK, now send them back. Sorry, US, but Tibet isn't going to be 'independent' anytime soon, and neither is Taiwan. Take care of Iraq and Serbia first.

Report this comment

Re: ReMar 26th, 2008 - 18:58:50

OK, you don't have to buy my arguments.

Besides, what argument did I make? Did you not see the tongue-sticking-out smiley at the end? If I were serious, I wouldn't have stuck that in there.

Report this comment

page: 1 

Follow Us

Follow M&C on Pinterest

Search

Custom Search

Also Check Out

Peter Andre ready to move on

Peter Andre ready to move on
Peter Andre is finally ready to move on from ex-wife Katie Price and wonders if he has already met the person he is 'supposed' to marry. ... more

Prince William's tribute to role model Queen

Prince Williams tribute to role model Queen
Britain's Prince William has paid tribute to his grandmother Queen Elizabeth for being an 'incredible role model'. ... more

Mariah Carey's sister wants reconciliation

Mariah Careys sister wants reconciliation
Mariah Carey's estranged sister Alison is desperate to mend her rift with the singer and meet the star's twins Moroccan and Monroe for the first time. ... more

Robin Gibb had kidney failure

Robin Gibb had kidney failure
Robin Gibb's son RJ says the Bee Gees singer's death was caused by kidney and liver failure, ... more

Matthew Morrison's sexy meals

Matthew Morrisons sexy meals
Matthew Morrison thinks cooking is 'sexy' and loves sharing candlelit dinners with his girlfriend Renee Puente. ... more

Apl.de.Ap praises 'beautiful' Cheryl

Apl.de.Ap praises beautiful Cheryl
Black Eyed Peas star Apl.de.Ap thinks Cheryl Cole is a 'beautiful' woman. ... more

Queen Elizabeth loves to laugh with her grandkids

Queen Elizabeth loves to laugh with her grandkids
Britain's Queen Elizabeth loves to share a laugh with her grandchildren and find out about their lives outside of their royal duties. ... more

David Hasselhoff to buy bar for Hayley

David Hasselhoff to buy bar for Hayley
David Hasselhoff wants to buy his Welsh girlfriend Hayley Roberts a bar which he will call the Hoff & Hounds. ... more

Gavin Rossdale refuses to speak to ex after DNA test

Gavin Rossdale refuses to speak to ex after DNA test
Gavin Rossdale has refused to speak to Pearl Lowe since she allowed their daughter Daisy to take a DNA test which revealed he is her father. ... more

Gary Barlow's odd queen meetings

Gary Barlows odd queen meetings
Gary Barlow does find meeting Britain's Queen Elizabeth is 'really odd' because it can be 'relaxing'. ... more