Pentagon’s $31 bn F-35 inventory mess: Hong Kong parts diversion haunts Trump ahead of Xi meeting?

The Pentagon is facing fresh questions over its ability to track the parts that keep America’s F-35 stealth fighters operational. A new Government Accountability Office report says the programme cannot reliably account for more than 17,000 components worth an estimated $1.3 billion, within a global spare-parts pool valued at around $31 billion. The findings come weeks after a shipment of F-35 components travelling from Australia to the United States was reportedly diverted to Hong Kong, prompting a Pentagon investigation. With concerns over possible Chinese access to sensitive technology, could these supply-chain failures become another issue for Trump ahead of his meeting with Xi Jinping?