TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A report released by the US Department of Defense's (DoD) Inspector General on Wednesday (Sept. 11) said that arms recently delivered to Taiwan were “unserviceable.” 

In the report, the Inspector General said the DoD “did not effectively or efficiently implement accountability and quality controls for items delivered to Taiwan using the Presidential Drawdown Authority.” 

It added, “More than 340 pallets of items sustained water damage while they remained at the aerial port of embarkation at Travis Air Force Base for three months pending a flight to Taiwan.”

The Inspector General concluded the problem occurred because the Army only requested a special airlift mission for the military supplies nearly two months after they were delivered to the port of embarkation. The report also said the base lacked sufficient storage capacity or ability to protect equipment from “adverse weather conditions.” 

According to the report, in December 2023, the Pentagon shipped 120 of the 340 rain-damaged pallets to Taiwan, which contained body armor that was “wet and moldy.” Taiwan also received 2.7 million rounds of ammunition, including some items that were expired, loose, and improperly packaged.

The report revealed that Taiwan's authorities had to spend several weeks “unpacking, drying, and inventorying the wet and moldy” presidential drawdown items.

The Inspector General warned: "More broadly, the delivery of non‑mission-capable items inhibit the DoD’s ability to achieve established security cooperation goals and may lead to loss of partner confidence in the United States."

In July 2023, US President Joe Biden approved up to US$345 million (NT$11 billion) worth of defense goods and services for Taiwan. In its report, the Inspector General assessed the DoD’s tracking and inventorying of the presidential drawdown items and the sufficiency of its processes to ensure that the equipment met standards. 

Of the 504 pallets of gear, 340, or about 67% suffered water damage while languishing at ports of embarkation for more than three months. In addition, six M240B machine guns were found to be haphazardly strewn inside a large cardboard box “without any wrapping or cushioning.”