South Africa holds joint naval drill with Russia, Iran, China amid growing geopolitical tensions

JOHANNESBURG

South Africa is hosting Russia, China and Iran for a weeklong joint naval drill off the coast of Cape Town, which experts fear could further strain Pretoria’s diplomatic relations with Washington.

The exercise, dubbed WILL FOR PEACE 2026, commenced on Jan. 9 and will end on Jan. 16. It is being conducted on South Africa’s territorial waters.

The South African National Defense Force said the drill aims to contribute to the safety of shipping routes, deepening cooperation and overall regional maritime stability. China is serving as the lead nation for the weeklong exercise.

The Democratic Alliance party (DA), which is part of the National Unity government (GNU) led by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) party, criticized the drill.

“Calling these drills ‘BRICS cooperation’ is a political trick to soften what is really happening, government is choosing closer military ties with rogue and sanctioned states such as Russia and Iran,” the DA said in a statement.

Deputy Defense Minister Bantu Holomisa told local broadcaster Newzroom Afrika on Friday that the SANDF has been involved in such joint naval drills with other countries for a long time.

“It’s not the first time that they (SANDF) will be doing this exercise with friendly countries. Remember South Africa is now part of the BRICS and many countries have now joined BRICS,’’ he said.

BRICS is a bloc of emerging economies, which initially included Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, but later admitted new members, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Iran.

Holomisa said the exercise will raise the morale of the SANDF troops, adding that it is an honor for them to practice with well-equipped countries in military terms.

He said China, Russia, South Africa, Iran and the UAE will be using their vessels to exercise while Indonesia, Ethiopia and Brazil are sending observers to the exercise.

Relations between Washington and Pretoria plunged to their lowest last year over disagreements on both foreign and domestic policies. Last year, US President Donald Trump accused South Africa of the alleged “genocide” against Afrikaners who are descendants of white settlers and the confiscation of their land.

The South African government denied the claims. The US, a founding member of the G20, also boycotted last year’s summit in Johannesburg, the first ever to be held in Africa.

Andre Duvenhage, a political science Professor at the North West University, expressed concern that the joint naval drill could further deteriorate relations between Washington and Pretoria.

“I have no doubt that this will complicate the relationship with the United States of America, as well as other Western countries and this may be very serious. At this point, we as a country need investment, economic and financial support. It is problematic; it’s giving the wrong signals to the wrong people,’’ he told Anadolu on Friday.