Wow! This appears to have been a rumor for 18 months (not a new thing) and they have concerns (enumerated in article) about these being real. I presume being easily modified to fire is also a concern.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) said at the time that the weapons were “not capable of firing any live munitions” and that the Chinese embassy had shipped them into the country to help train local officers.

The RSIPF has not yet responded to the claims in the diplomatic missive, but the head of the Solomon Islands Foreign Ministry Collin Beck took to social media over the weekend to call the story false.

“When the very institutions entrusted to protect us are implicated in such deceptive acts, it becomes clear that this government cannot be trusted, especially on matters as critical as national security,” Mr Wale said in a statement.

Prominent opposition MP Peter Kenilorea Jr told the ABC the RSIPF needed to publicly respond to the allegation, and that the government should follow that up by establishing a commission of inquiry into the shipment.

Australian police and military personnel led another security intervention into Solomon Islands in late 2021 after Honiara was hit with widespread looting and rioting and Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare called for assistance.

Australian police remain in the country under the Solomon Islands Assistance Force and over the weekend the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirmed that more personnel would be sent over to help provide security for the Pacific Games in November.

The original article contains 725 words, the summary contains 220 words. Saved 70%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!