China concerned over US nuclear parts mistake

[Neo]

China concerned over US nuclear parts mistake​

* Pentagon says it mistakenly shipped four nuclear missile fuses to Taiwan in 2006​

BEIJING: China expressed concern and dissatisfaction with the United States on Wednesday after the Pentagon said it mistakenly shipped four fuses for nuclear missiles to Taiwan in 2006.

Beijing had urged the United States to thoroughly investigate and report the details promptly to China so as to “eliminate the negative effect and severe consequences”, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang was quoted on a ministry website as saying. “We express our serious concern and strong dissatisfaction with this and have made solemn representations to the American side,” he said. Beijing believes self-ruled Taiwan, which held a presidential election on Saturday, is part of China and has declined to renounce the use of force as a means to reunite the island with the mainland.

The US military was supposed to ship helicopter batteries to Taiwan, but instead sent fuses used as part of the trigger mechanism on Minuteman missiles, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. Taiwan returned the parts to the US last week. No nuclear material was shipped to Taiwan, said Pentagon officials.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry confirmed the parts had already been returned, and that they were seeking damages. “Taiwan-US military cooperation has always been close, and this was a case of mistaken shipment,” it said in a statement, adding, “It will not affect continuing future bilateral relations.” The problem went unnoticed until Taiwan realised it did not have the helicopter batteries it ordered and reported the issue to the United States, said US officials. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin repeated China’s calls for the United States to stop arms sales and joint exercises with Taiwan in order to avoid upsetting peace and stability and keep Sino-US relations healthy.

The US has not had diplomatic relations with Taipei since 1979 but is bound by law to help Taiwan defend itself. The erroneous fuse shipment was the Pentagon’s second embarrassing misplacement of nuclear or nuclear-related equipment announced in recent months. An Air Force bomber mistakenly carried nuclear warheads over the United States in August 2007.

It was unclear what led to the fuse shipment and the Pentagon does not yet know who was responsible. The fuses, which send an electronic signal to the device that starts the nuclear weapon’s trigger process, are among a class of sensitive equipment that must be accounted for on a quarterly basis.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[IceCold]

So much for telling us about the possible danger of nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands. Doorson ko neesat khud miyan feesat.