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[global network report] according to a report by taiwan's central news agency on september 13, the u.s. department of defense inspector general recently released a report that the military equipment taiwan received from the united states in december last year under the "presidential appropriations authority" included expired ammunition, messy packaging, and damp and moldy bulletproof vests. a staff member of the american institute in taiwan said that the ammunition packaging "looked like something that was being cleared out of the unwanted items." "is the u.s. military helping taiwan to clear its inventory?" taiwan's china times news network also raised this question in its report.

the weapons provided by the united states to taiwan can be seen to be damp and moldy from the packaging. the items in the picture include bulletproof plates, which will be shipped to taiwan at the end of december 2023. picture from taiwan's "central news agency"

taiwan’s central news agency said that in july 2023, the united states announced that it would provide taiwan with military aid worth us$345 million. this is the first time that the united states has provided military aid to taiwan in this way. the report said that the inspector general of the u.s. department of defense recently conducted an inventory and tracking of the arms provided by the united states to taiwan to understand whether the u.s. department of defense has effectively implemented this plan, and submitted a final report on september 11, which was published on the website of the inspector general of the u.s. department of defense.

the investigation found that two batches of arms delivered to taiwan at the end of december 2023 included "unusable and poorly packaged equipment and ammunition." the taiwan defense department wrote to the security cooperation group of the american institute in taiwan (ait) on this issue at the time. the report quoted the director of the security cooperation group of the american institute in taiwan as saying that the condition of these arms left a bad impression on senior officials of the taiwan defense department because the ammunition packaging looked "like it was cleared out of unwanted items."

the report mentioned that according to a letter from taiwan's defense department, taiwan received 2.7 million rounds of ammunition, some of which were expired, and the ammunition was packed in a mess, including original packaging, bulk and wrong packaging, which made inventory and management difficult. the report said that the 2.7 million rounds of ammunition were manufactured in 1983. an internal email from the american institute in taiwan showed that the batch of supplies also included 3,000 moldy bulletproof plates and 500 damp and moldy tactical vests.

according to the report of the inspector general of the u.s. department of defense, the materials that were to arrive in taiwan at the end of december 2023 were sent to the curvis air force base in california in october of that year. there was no proper storage space there to prevent the materials from being exposed to adverse weather and they were kept there for at least three months. the first two flights did not take off until december 28. the report stated that the delivery of weapons that are not capable of performing missions by the united states will limit the u.s. department of defense's goal of security cooperation and may cause partners to lose confidence in the united states.

after the news broke, some netizens on the island commented, "it's too outrageous."

some netizens said, "it is called military aid, but it seems like the concept of resource recycling."

some netizens also said, "taiwan can't do anything. it can't even make cars, so of course it can only pick up garbage."

some netizens also said, "we are treated as plates (suckers), even though we have been plates for a long time."

"didn't they say that the relationship between taiwan and the united states is rock solid? instead, they gave us garbage..." one netizen left a sarcastic comment.

"central news agency" and other taiwanese media reported that regarding the items and conditions of the military aid delivered, taiwan's defense department said on the 13th that taiwan and the united states had jointly reviewed and handled them.

the taiwan defense department's remarks also drew criticism from netizens on the island: "how generous! they want us to deal with the garbage they brought in? you think the money is too much, right?"

regarding the us government's decision to provide military aid worth about us$345 million to the taiwan region of china. chen binhua, spokesperson for the taiwan affairs office of the state council, previously stated that we firmly oppose the united states providing weapons to the taiwan region of china. this position is clear and consistent. the dpp authorities stubbornly adhere to the separatist position of "taiwan independence", attempting to "rely on the united states to seek independence" and "use force to seek independence", constantly begging the united states to sell weapons or provide military aid to it, and strengthening military ties with the united states. their actions are turning taiwan into a "powder keg" and "ammunition depot", exacerbating the danger of war in the taiwan strait. if the dpp is allowed to go all the way, young people can only be cannon fodder.

chen binhua said that "taiwan independence" is a dead end. no matter how much tax money the dpp authorities and the "taiwan independence" separatist forces spend from the taiwanese people or how many american weapons they buy, they cannot shake our firm will to resolve the taiwan issue and achieve complete reunification of the motherland, nor can they resist our powerful strength to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.