According to the statement, Taiwan military only discovered the mistake last week following an inspection by the Army Command of the original shipment, which had been stored since delivery in a warehouse.

After notifying the pentagon about the mistake and filling proper compensation claims, Taiwan military turned the missile parts over to the American Institute in Taiwan on Tuesday.

The U.S. shipped the missile components in place of batteries for Army helicopters that Taiwan had ordered and Taipei has asked the U.S. to provide the items originally purchased, MND’s Armaments Bureau Director Wu Wei-jung said at the Legislative Yuan that morning.

Wu added that Washington had initially asked the MND to handle the matter on its own; but, when Taipei found it did not have such capability, it eventually asked the pentagon to manage the return of the components.

U.S. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said at a Pentagon news conference Tuesday that four electrical fuses to be used in nose cone assemblies for intercontinental ballistic missiles were mistakenly sent to Taiwan in the summer of 2006.

Wynne acknowledged that the mistake was notified by Taiwan authorities and said the matter was under investigation.

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