F-35 parts destined for the United States were mysteriously transferred to Hong Kong and fell into the hands of China. The U.S. Congress is concerned

A batch of sensitive parts for F-35 fighter jets originally scheduled to be sent to the United States from Australia was mysteriously transferred to Hong Kong during transportation and eventually fell into the hands of the Chinese government, sparking concern in the U.S. Congress. Two key federal senators responsible for intelligence and military affairs said the incident was "extremely concerning" and had asked the Pentagon to explain the incident.

Bloomberg reported on the 25th that Mark Warner, the top Democratic member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said, "I am trying to get a complete briefing on the ins and outs of the matter. This matter is extremely worrying." He added that he expected to receive a briefing "before the end of this week."

This batch of parts is the canopy and weapons bay door of an F-35 fighter jet of the Australian military. They were shipped to the United States by UPS for inspection, but were transferred to Hong Kong for unknown reasons during the journey. The two parts, supplied by the U.S. defense industry company Lockheed Martin, are coated with radar-absorbing materials that improve stealth performance.

Republican Congressman Kevin Cramer, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee's Air Land Subcommittee, which is investigating the matter, said that what concerns him most is that this kind of thing "can happen." He questioned whether there was an error on the part of the transportation company or U.S. allies, or whether "China had a plan to intercept these items." He said he hoped to retrieve the parts, but "obviously, they have been exploited, or China must have done everything possible to obtain information from it."

The Pentagon is trying to retrieve the parts, and the Department of War (Defense Department) responded to the senators' questions by repeating its statement from a few days ago, saying it was aware of the "shipping issue" and was working to retrieve the parts. At least two congressional committees are investigating the incident.

According to Bloomberg citing sources the day before, the cargo plane stopped in South Korea on its way to the United States, and then the parts were transferred to Hong Kong. It is still unclear why it stopped in South Korea and why it was transferred to Hong Kong. It is also impossible to determine whether the parts were deliberately transferred or simply a transportation error. The source said that the Chinese government later obtained the parts and has not yet returned them.

The Chinese Embassy in the United States did not immediately respond, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing said it was "not aware of the relevant situation."