It might look like an artillery shell and weigh as much as an artillery shell, but this is a novelty bottle of wine, Chinese officials insist after object found in shipping container
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China has insisted a suspected artillery shell weighing 32kg found in Papua New Guinea is simply a wine bottle and poses 'no danger at all'.
Four Chinese nationals were arrested on Friday after police discovered the object inside a commercial shipping container at a construction site in the capital, Port Moresby.
Police Commissioner David Manning described the find as 'a very concerning discovery', with local reports saying authorities were investigating whether it was a live device.
He said: 'Police acted quickly upon receiving information that the artillery round had been discovered. The area was secured to prevent the risk of harm in the surrounding area.
'This enabled police and military explosive disposal experts to move in, examine the device and have it safely moved to be stored in a secure facility.'
Papua New Guinea police also rejected suggestions that the object was 'merely a dummy', according to local newspaper the Post-Courier.
On Wednesday, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation cited unnamed sources who identified the item as an unexploded Chinese Type 59 130mm artillery projectile containing explosives and a fuse.
The identification has not been independently verified.
But Beijing's embassy dismissed reports surrounding the find, declaring in a Facebook post on Tuesday that it was a 'shell-shaped wine bottle'.
China has insisted a suspected artillery shell weighing 32kg found in is simply a wine bottle and poses 'no danger at all'
The Chinese embassy insisted it was 'virtually impossible' for an illegal military-grade artillery shell to be smuggled from China to Papua New Guinea.
It said China enforced exceptionally strict controls on firearms and described the country as among the safest in the world.
The explanation drew scepticism online, with one user asking: 'What sort of wine bottle weighs 32 kilograms?'
Its assurances failed to convince other Facebook users, with one pointing out that the object bore no labels identifying it as a wine bottle.
In recent years, Pacific island nations such as Papua New Guinea have found themselves caught in the middle of a geopolitical struggle between China and the West, as both sides compete for influence across the region.
Last October, PNG signed its first defence agreement with Australia.
However, less than a year later, it announced it would close the Taipei Economic Office in Port Moresby, which often functions as a de facto embassy for countries that do not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Australia has also signed fresh co-operation agreements with Vanuatu and Fiji and is reportedly pursuing similar deals with the Solomon Islands and Tonga.
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