PRETORIA: China, Russia and Iran have launched a week-long joint naval exercise in the waters off South Africa, aimed at ensuring the safety of shipping routes and maritime economic activities, South Africa’s military said on Saturday.
According to the host country, the drills are being conducted under the framework of BRICS Plus, an expanded geopolitical grouping that builds on the original BRICS bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The expanded grouping now includes Egypt, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates.
South Africa’s military said the exercise, titled “WILL FOR PEACE 2026”, focuses on joint maritime security operations and interoperability among participating navies. Chinese military officials, addressing the opening ceremony, said Brazil, Egypt and Ethiopia were participating as observers.
Lieutenant Colonel Mpho Mathebula, acting spokesperson for joint operations, said all BRICS Plus members had been invited to take part in the exercise.
South Africa routinely conducts naval drills with China and Russia; however, the latest exercise comes amid heightened tensions between the administration of US President Donald Trump and several BRICS Plus countries, including China, Iran, South Africa and Brazil.
President Trump has accused BRICS nations of pursuing anti-American policies and earlier this year warned of imposing an additional 10 per cent trade tariff on member states.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s pro-Western Democratic Alliance, the second-largest party in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s coalition government, criticised the exercises, saying they contradicted the country’s stated neutrality and risked entangling South Africa in global power rivalries.
Responding to the criticism, Mathebula said the drills were not politically motivated. “This is not a political arrangement, and there is no hostility towards any country,” he said, adding that South Africa also periodically conducts naval exercises with the United States Navy.