US mistakenly sent N-missile parts to Taiwan

The US mistakenly sent nuclear missile components to Taiwan in 2006, the Pentagon revealed on Tuesday, marking the second big failure of safeguards on the US nuclear arsenal in recent years.

The Pentagon accidentally shipped four nose cones for the Minute Man missile instead of the helicopter batteries Taiwan had ordered.

The nose cones contain a fuse that sends a signal to the triggering system to start preparing the warhead for detonation. Defence officials said no fissile material had been shipped to Taiwan, but said they were taking the mistake seriously because it involved the US nuclear arsenal. The US embassy in Beijing informed the Chinese government, which views Taiwan as a renegade province, about the matter on Tuesday in advance of the Pentagon's disclosure.

"In an organisation as large as [the defence department], the largest and most complex in the world, there will be mistakes," said Ryan Henry, the principal deputy undersecretary of defence. "But they cannot be tolerated in the arena in strategic systems, whether they are nuclear or associated equipment, as was in this case."

Robert Gates, US defence secretary, ordered an immediate investigation into the incident, which was the second recent failure of nuclear safeguards. Last year, a B-52 bomber mistakenly carried nuclear weapons from one US air force base to another.

Taiwan notified the US earlier this year that the 2006 shipment did not contain the batteries requested. The Pentagon initially thought Taiwan had received a different kind of battery and told Taiwan to destroy the shipment, said one defence official. Last week, however, the Pentagon realised Taiwan had received missile nose cones.

Mr Henry said the shipment was an error and that US policy on Taiwan had not changed. The US government is required by law to help Taiwan provide for its defence.

Michael Wynne, secretary of the air force, said Taiwanese authorities acted "very responsibly". He said there was no indication that Taiwan had tried to gain intelligence from the components.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said the "extremely stupid" mistake underscored that "procedures and controls on these sensitive items need to be reviewed and tightened".

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