The Chinese government is holding sensitive F-35 parts that were inexplicably diverted to Hong Kong while being shipped from Australia to the United States,Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
The parts contain material designed to hide the fighter jet from radar, according to the report.
The report broke as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington for a multi-day state visit and talks with President Donald Trump.
UPS was transporting a cockpit canopy and weapons-bay door from an Australian military F-35 to the U.S. in late May. The parts were being sent for inspection and possible repair or disposal. The shipment stopped in South Korea before being routed to Hong Kong.
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It remains unclear whether the diversion was deliberate or accidental.
The Chinese government later took possession of the parts. The Pentagon had previously acknowledged the components were missing, but it had not said Beijing possessed them.
Congress has been investigating the incident for months. State Department and Pentagon officials first briefed congressional staff in June.
Australia’s defense minister confirmed the diversion Tuesday but said he did not believe the shipment contained sensitive parts. Lockheed Martin, which manufactures the fighter jets, said the components were unserviceable and posed little risk of exploitation.
Bloomberg’s report raises new questions about those assessments. Both parts were coated with radar-absorbing material that helps conceal the aircraft from enemy detection.
Physical access could help China study the material, check information obtained through espionage or improve systems designed to detect the F-35.
The incident could also intensify congressional scrutiny of Trump’s proposed sale of F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia.
The State Department notified Congress last week of a potential $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35s, 49 engines and related equipment to Riyadh. Congress has 30 days to review the deal.
U.S. intelligence agencies have warned that China could obtain F-35 technology through espionage in Saudi Arabia or through its growing military and security relationship with the kingdom.
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