South Africa to hold naval drills with Russia and China

The South African government has announced a joint maneuver with the Russian and Chinese navies off its coast.

“South Africa will host the Chinese and Russian Federation navies in a multilateral maritime exercise between February 17 and 27,” the South African military confirmed in a statement.

“In order to strengthen the already flourishing relations between South Africa, Russia, and China,” the joint maneuvers will take place off Durban, the largest port in southern Africa, and Richards Bay some 180 km further north, the statement said.

Meanwhile, the army said, “This will be the second time that such an exercise is held in the presence of the three naval forces, the first having taken place in November 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa.”

Operational knowledge
Report says these maneuvers will involve more than 350 South African military personnel “from several services and divisions” alongside “their Russian and Chinese counterparts with the aim of sharing skills and operational knowledge.”

The China-Russia-South Africa drills is named Operation Mosi, which means smoke.

South Africa, one of the continent’s powers, has taken a neutral stance since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, refusing to join Western calls to condemn Moscow.

Meanwhile, the opposition Democratic Alliance has slammed the decision, saying it means that contrary to its ‘neutral’ stance on Russia’s Ukraine war.

AFRICANEWS/Christopher Ojilere