All of South Africa’s ties to China and Russia (which the US doesn’t like)
South Africa, in the midst of the war in Ukraine, will participate in a joint naval exercise with China and Russia, in defiance of its partnership with the United States. The New York Times article
The South African military announced Thursday plans to hold joint exercises off its coast next month with Russia and China, a move criticized by the United States, which has been trying to get other countries to isolate Russia for war in Ukraine.
The exercises will coincide with the one year anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. South Africa was among three dozen countries that abstained from voting in the United Nations last year to condemn Russia for its claim to have annexed several regions of Ukraine.
South Africa has already conducted military exercises with Russia and China, as well as with the United States and NATO countries. The South African National Defense Force said the upcoming exercises, to be held February 17-27 near the coastal cities of Durban and Richards Bay, were a "means of strengthening the already thriving relations between South Africa, Russia and China". Writes the NYT .
The United States, which has promoted a ten-year strategic partnership with South Africa, immediately expressed its disapproval. David Feldmann, spokesman for the US Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, said in a statement: "We note with concern" South Africa's plan to proceed with the joint exercises "even as Moscow continues its brutal and illegal invasion of the Ukraine".
He added: "We encourage South Africa to cooperate militarily with democracies that share our mutual commitment to human rights and the rule of law."
According to analysts, the naval exercise is a demonstration of diplomatic independence for South Africa. South Africa is part of an alliance with Brazil, Russia, India and China – known by the acronym BRICS – and this naval exercise reaffirms South Africa's position that it will not allow the conflict between Russia and Ukraine to dictate its diplomatic relations.
"It's seen as a war that's happening in Europe, and as far as South Africa is concerned, it's not part of this war," said Denys Reva, a maritime researcher at the Institute of Security Studies in South Africa.
Although the European Union is South Africa's largest trading partner, South Africa's governing party, the African National Congress, has maintained deep historical ties with Russia and China, thanks to the help these countries have provided in the fight against 'apartheid.
Many South Africans who led efforts to overthrow the apartheid regime studied and received military training in the Soviet Union. China also provided military training to members of the ANC, the liberation party that would later rule South Africa.
For Russia, which has faced international sanctions since the war began, the joint naval exercise is a welcome show of friendship from a diplomatic partner, several analysts said.
For China, even if the stakes are lower, the February exercise will be a reminder that the BRICS alliance is still a global player, said Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, director of the South African Institute for International Affairs. The BRICS will not be a military alliance like NATO, but they still present themselves as a "contrast force to the West".
Although the South African military is among the most powerful on the African continent, the declining defense budget has eroded its capabilities.
South Africa, China and Russia held such a naval exercise for the first time in 2019, conducting anti-piracy and rescue exercises. Darren Olivier, director of the African Defense Review, a security consultancy, said he and other security experts at the time did not attach much diplomatic significance to the cooperation.
Now, against the backdrop of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the exercise has taken on "a stronger ideological importance at the political level," said Olivier. He added that it would have been more "sensible and pragmatic" if South Africa had postponed the exercise.
But South Africa has also been working with the militaries of its Western partners. Since 2011, South Africa has conducted joint military exercises with the United States four times, most recently last July.
The South African navy has also conducted similar exercises with NATO and its member states, such as France and Germany, said maritime researcher Reva.
The European Union ambassador to South Africa declined to comment on Thursday.
Although many South Africans have said they support their country's refusal to condemn Russia for the war in Ukraine, the military exercises have provoked some domestic criticism.
Kobus Marais, a member of the Democratic Alliance, South Africa's main opposition party, which sits on the parliamentary joint defense committee, said the military exercise would bring little benefit to the struggling and underfunded South African naval fleet. The South African government should have prioritized relations with key trading partners, such as the European Union and the United States. Instead, he has repeatedly shown his favor with Russia.
“It is clear that they are now demonstrating a lack of neutrality,” Marais said.
Last month, the Lady R, a Russian container ship under US sanctions, was cleared to dock at South Africa's naval port just outside Cape Town. The vessel's mysterious nocturnal arrival has raised speculation among South Africans and some concern that a sanctioned commercial vessel had been allowed to use a naval facility. Only after departure did South African Defense Minister Thandi Modise provide an explanation, saying the ship had delivered "an old outstanding order for munitions".
More than 350 members of various branches of the South African military will participate in the exercises, dubbed Exercise MOSI.
The announcement of the exercises comes just days before Russian Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov visits South Africa for bilateral talks with his South African counterpart, Naledi Pandor.
(Excerpt from the foreign press review by eprcomunicazione )
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/tutti-i-legami-del-sudafrica-con-cina-e-russia-che-non-piacciono-agli-usa/ on Sun, 22 Jan 2023 06:51:26 +0000.