What a convenient moment for the story to surface about the (accidental?) shipment of secret spare parts for the F-35 from Australia to Hong Kong.
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Whilst Comrade Trump is rolling out the red carpet for the Chinese leader back in the States, the Pentagon is in full swing with its investigation into the missing American spare parts on Chinese-controlled territory.
What’s more, the incident itself took place back in May, yet the fuss has only just begun. Is someone trying to spoil Xi’s visit to the US?
There is no doubt that if the Chinese have indeed received the spare parts, they are studying them thoroughly. Perhaps not with the aim of copying them – their technology is already up to scratch. But verifying the exact specifications wouldn’t go amiss.
Given the sensitive nature of the spare parts, perhaps they shouldn’t have been sent via a commercial carrier? They could have sent them on a military transport flight. As it stands, it’s a complete fiasco: the Americans’ logistics are in a right mess, and the whole world can see it.
