- The US sent Taiwan "mildewed" body armor and machine guns left in a cardboard box, the OIG said.
- About two-thirds of the military shipment was damaged by water as it sat for months at an airbase.
- The watchdog said the ruined gear was part of a $345 million package signed by Biden in 2023.
The US sent Taiwan hundreds of pallets containing "unserviceable" equipment and ammo in the last year because the gear got wet while sitting for months at an air base, a government watchdog said.
In a report published on Wednesday, the Office of the Inspector-General said that the lapse risked souring the US' reputation after Taipei wasted weeks drying and taking stock of the ruined shipments.
The Defense Department sent 504 pallets to Taiwan from November 2023 to March 2024 under the presidential drawdown, which allows the US to give weapons and gear to its partners out of its own stocks.
The OIG said at least 340 of those pallets — about two-thirds of the total shipment — "sustained water damage" because they were delayed for so long.
That included 120 pallets containing 500 wet and moldy tactical vests and "3,000 mildewed body armor plates," the watchdog said.
The boxes carrying the equipment also showed clear signs of damage.
"We observed disintegrating tri-walls with visible mold spores, wrapped in plastic that had trapped water, facilitating further deterioration and mold growth," the officials wrote.
The shipments were stored at Travis Air Force Base, but the OIG said that the US Army didn't request flights to send the gear to Taiwan for two months after receiving the boxes.
Without facilities to store or protect the equipment and ammo, they were exposed to the bad weather, the report added.
The report also said the shipments contained 2.7 million rounds of ammo manufactured in 1983. Some of the rounds were "poorly packaged," while others were expired, the OIG said.
According to the report, US diplomats working with the Taiwanese national defense ministry said some ammo had arrived in open boxes, making it seem like the rounds came from units that had "cleared out stuff they didn't want."
One top US official noted that the shipment "did not leave senior leaders from the Taiwan MND with a favorable impression," the report wrote.
Additionally, the shipments to Taiwan included six M240B machine guns from the National Guard in Clovis, New Mexico, that were dumped in a cardboard box without any wrapping.
The OIG warned that the gaffe risked damaging Taiwan's confidence in the US at a time when Taipei is already facing growing pressure from Beijing.
In a statement to Taiwanese media, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Pete Nguyen said the Defense Department would learn from the OIG's report and improve its shipment process.
"Taiwan is a key security cooperation partner, and the US government is committed to ensuring that equipment delivered to this partner is sufficient for operational use," Nguyen said, per the Taipei Times.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.
The damaged items sent to the self-governed island were part of a defense package worth $345 million that President Joe Biden signed in July 2023.
Tensions between Taipei and Beijing have been roiling to new heights since the reelection of the Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan, a sign that voters continue to support resisting mainland China.