China’s embassy in Papua New Guinea has disputed reports that a suspected Chinese-made artillery shell was found in a shipping container in Port Moresby, saying the object was instead a shell-shaped wine bottle.
The embassy said in a social media post on Tuesday it was awaiting the official findings of an investigation by the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC).
It cited an on-site verification by a company involved in the case, which said it found that the object was a wine bottle. “It poses no danger at all,” the embassy said.
The embassy also noted that China had some of the world’s strictest firearm control laws and said it was “virtually impossible” for an illegal military-grade artillery shell to be smuggled out of China to PNG.