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The Russia-China-South Africa joint naval exercises: a tool for Beijing’s political expansion

South Africa's Defense Department announced on January 19 that the country would host the Mosi II exercise off its coast from February 17 to 27. South Africa will send 350 naval personnel to participate alongside Russian and Chinese counterparts, aiming to share operational expertise and knowledge.
Preparations for the exercise were made in virtual planning conferences in early December. This is the second Mosi exercise for the three navies, after that of November 2019.

The exercise has drawn criticism from countries opposed to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which South Africa has refused to condemn.
South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said on Monday it was only natural for friends to host such drills.
Zhou Chenming, a researcher at the Beijing-based Yuan Wang military science and technology think tank, said the trilateral exercise was another sign of the resumption of Chinese military diplomacy after three years of restrictions to control the pandemic. Obviously it is a time to strengthen Russian-Chinese relations, but Beijing obviously aims to increase its weight also in Africa rather than, in this case, developing direct military collaboration and improving the readiness of its forces. The results it aims for are more political than military.

"China has always placed importance on building relationships with African nations since the 1990s," he said. "What has changed now is the capabilities of the Chinese navy, which years ago were much weaker."
Zhou said the small drill seemed like a routine exercise, adding that there are no political rivals for Beijing among South Africa's neighbors.
According to the Pentagon's 2020 China Military Strength Report, the People's Liberation Army has the largest navy in the world, with a combined combat strength of about 350 surface ships and submarines, including more than 130 large combat vessels. surface.

The exercise is designed to win the favor of African elites and put an adequate foothold on the continent, also to strengthen the economic expansionism of investments related to the Belt and Road. Russia, on the other hand, is taking the opportunity to emerge from a certain international isolation.


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The article The Russia-China-South Africa Joint Naval Exercises: A Tool for Beijing's Political Expansion comes from Scenari Economics .


This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/le-esercitazioni-congiunte-navali-russia-cina-sud-africa-uno-strumento-di-espansione-politica-di-pechino/ on Sat, 28 Jan 2023 07:00:26 +0000.