Chinese top officials said they were very concerned and displeased about Pentagon’s mistake of shipping ballistic missile components to Taiwan.

China called on the United States to launch a thorough investigation of the incident and then provide the Chinese side with a report made in a “timely, truthful and detailed manner,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement on the ministry's Web site.

"We once again remind the United States to abide by the Sino-U.S. joint communique of August 17, and cease arm sales to Taiwan and contact with the Taiwanese military, in order to avoid damaging the peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and the healthy development of Sino-U.S. relations," the statement said.

The error made by the US was discovered about a week ago and it was publicly announced yesterday by the U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne. In his statement, he said the mistake shipment was made in the fall of 2006.

The U.S. military was suppose to make a shipment of helicopter batteries to Taiwan in the fall of 2006, but instead sent four nose cone fuses for intercontinental ballistic missiles, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

According to the statement issued by Pentagon officials, the fuses were sent back to the U.S. and no nuclear material was shipped to Taiwan.

"There are no nuclear or fissile materials associated with these items," Wynne said
The nose cone fuses were allegedly shipped from the F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming to the Defense Logistics Agency warehouse at Hill Air Force Base in Utah and from there to Taiwan, Wynne said. He added that the investigation is under way.

The Taiwanese issue is very tense. The self-ruled country which held a presidential election on Saturday is still considered a Chinese province by Beijing which made it clear that it could use its military might to reunite Taiwan with the mainland.