F-35 components shipped from Australia to the United States ended up in China after a UPS employee missed a warning against routing the cargo through Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported.
Bloomberg said the shipment was meant to reach San Francisco. It was rerouted through Hong Kong to speed delivery after a delay. An email to the carrier said the cargo could not transit the territory under U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles had earlier confirmed that the components ended up in Hong Kong but said they were not sensitive equipment. Details of the route and how the shipment changed hands have not been disclosed.