Products arrived damaged and moldy.

Equipment was unserviceable and poorly packaged.

The shelf life on some items already expired.

Other parts were delivered in the incorrect packaging.

These aren’t poor product reviews for a shady seller left by dissatisfied customers on Amazon, but rather the shocking findings of an investigation into equipment supplied to Taiwan by the Department of Defense conducted by the Pentagon’s own Inspector General (IG).

Taiwan is a key U.S. partner and manufactures most of the world’s advanced semiconductors, which are crucial to the United States’ own defenses. With China increasing military activities around the island, it’s vitally important Taiwan is properly equipped to counter an attack. In a provocative move just last week, China encircled the island with combat ships, conducting war games with more than 150 military aircraft. And the commander of U.S. Army forces in the Pacific worries China could order an attack within the next 10 years.

Delivering delayed and damaged defenses is putting Taiwan and the world on the brink.

This latest mishap is part of a dangerous pattern of international incompetence by the Biden-Harris administration.

The Trump administration approved fighter jets for Taiwan in 2019, which still haven’t been delivered. It took U.S. armed forces less time to plan, launch, and execute the liberation of Europe from the Nazis in World War II!

After a two-year delay, anti-tank missile launchers finally arrived on the island this year, but are missing a crucial component– the missiles.

And military supplies Congress approved for Taiwan as part of the National Defense Authorization Act passed in 2022 finally began arriving late last December, but in totally unusable condition.

Millions of rounds of the ammunition delivered were manufactured in 1983! Some were so poorly packaged, it was difficult to inventory. As a result, senior leaders at Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense got the impression the U.S. was simply getting rid of “cleared out stuff they didn’t want.”

Two-thirds of the pallets of equipment suffered water damage after being exposed to rain, heat, and humidity while waiting to be put on a flight to Taiwan for three months in a make-shift storage area. By the time the shipment arrived, more than 3,000 body armor plates were mildewed, and 500 tactical vests were moldy. U.S. taxpayers were charged an additional $730,000 for cleaning up and replacing the equipment.

“Had policies been followed, the (Department of Defense) would have been able to provide Taiwan with military equipment in acceptable condition,” the IG warns. “Instead, the equipment arrived in Taiwan damaged and moldy. Such performance risks eroding Taiwan’s confidence in the United States as a reliable source of assistance.”

The Biden-Harris team is much more effective arming our enemies than our allies.

Nearly $1 billion was paid to the Hamas-infiltrated United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) since 2021. At least a dozen staff members of the UNRWA helped Hamas plan and carry out the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks against Israel that killed hundreds of people, including 46 Americans.

Untold millions of defense dollars are being secretly sent to labs in communist China for reasons the administration refuses to disclose to taxpayers.

And billions of dollars of sophisticated weapons were left for terrorists in Afghanistan, in contrast to the unusable, moldy and mildewed hand-me-downs passed on to Taiwan. A thrift shop wouldn’t even accept clothes donated in such poor condition.

The loss of mainland China to communism forever changed the course of history. The world cannot afford to lose Taiwan because bureaucratic bungling by the Biden-Harris administration is leaving the island unable to defend itself.

That is why I am giving my October 2024 Squeal Award to the Pentagon for failing to carry out the most basic mission of delivering much needed military support to our partner in a timely manner.

I am also demanding the Secretary of Defense take immediate action to correct the problems and expedite the replacement of damaged equipment in order to restore trust with Taiwan and deter aggression by China.

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican, represents Iowa.