Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On or about June 2, 2020, a donation of medical supplies to Argentina's Ministry of Defense from China's Ministry of Defense and People's Liberation Army (PLA) to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was announced. The donation arrived on June 17, 2020 and included thermometer guns, protective clothing, masks, protective glasses, gloves, and smart helmets equipped with thermal sensors. The supplies arrived on the 24th special flight of Aerolíneas Argentinas to China. The materials were delivered to the Buenos Aires Naval Station. According to one media report prior to the delivery, the specific amounts of the supplies listed above were as follows: 50,000 disposable masks, 6,000 surgical masks, 6,000 KN95 surgical masks, 4,200 medical glasses, 3,000 disposable protective masks and 3,000 units of protective clothing, "among other things." It did not specify the number of smart helmets nor thermometer guns.
Staff comments
1. The commitment date (June 2, 2020) is taken from the report from Ámbito, and is reported to be the date on which new flights in the Puente Aéreo (Air Bridge) initiative were announced. Ámbito reports in the line immediately following that these flights will contain this donation from the PLA and Ministry of Defense. It is also possible on or about May 27, 2020 should be the commitment date (see staff comment #2), but there is no direct evidence that this is the case. 2. Reports about a donation from China's Ministry of Public Security to Argentina's Ministry of Security delivered May 27, 2020 (captured via Record ID#69324) indicated a second portion of that donation would be delivered June 2, 2020. However, there is no evidence of a delivery on June 2. It is possible that this project (#91141) is the second half of this donation. However, given the inconsistencies on the dates and the donation going to/from different recipients (the Ministries of Security are separate from the countries' respective Defense Ministries), it is unclear the two projects are linked. 3. The "Air Bridge" ("Puente Aéreo") initiative included 42 flights by Aerolíneas Argentinas in 2020 between the Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires and the cities of Shanghai (35 flights) and Guangzhou (7 flights) to transport COVID-19 supplies from China to Argentina. While some of the flights included supplies explicitly reported as grants, others were purchased by the Argentine government. However, this donation from the Chinese Ministry of Defense and the PLA does not appear in the log of flights from the Argentine Ministry of Health: http://datos.salud.gob.ar/dataset/vuelos-de-aerolineas-argentinas-covid-1. This issue warrants further investigation. 4. While reports indicate this donation was on the 24th special flight, another set of supplies that reportedly arrived on June 22nd was said to have been contained on the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd flights (captured via Record ID#91139). This issue warrants further investigation. 5. AidData has estimated the transaction amount for this donation based on price catalogues from the World Health Organization (WHO). Please see the TUFF Methodology for additional details.