CAPE TOWN, South Africa — South Africa is due to hold joint naval exercises beginning Friday with Russia and China on the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, raising eyebrows and provoking criticism worldwide.
RFI reports:
The South Africa National Defence Force (Sandf) confirmed on 19 January that South Africa will host the navies of China and Russia during a “multilateral maritime exercise” over the period 17 to 27 February.
The exercise, codenamed “Mosi” (“Smoke” in Swahili), will take place around the Durban and Richards Bay areas of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, according to the statement.
According to Russia’s Tass news agency, the Admiral Gorshkov, a ship “carrying Tsirkon hypersonic missiles” will take part in the exercises as well after taking in supplies in Russia’s navy base in Tartus, Syria.
The South African National Defence Force confirmed the planned joint exercises:
The SA National Defence Force || Media Statement || Thursday, 19 January 2023 || SA to host the People’s Liberation Army Navy from China and Russian Federal Navy during the Multilateral Maritime Exercises over period 17 to 27 February 2023.#SANDF#DCCMediaLiaison#SANavy pic.twitter.com/QiDU2rBalF
— SA National Defence Force (@SANDF_ZA) January 19, 2023
The war in Ukraine began on Feb. 24, 2022, with the initial Russian advance; fighting continues in the eastern part of the country despite Ukraine’s successful early effort to rebuff a Russian assault on the capital, Kyiv.
South Africa’s position on the war in Ukraine has been ambivalent, with different government departments at time at odds with one another.
The country generally has a pro-Russia tilt, thanks in large part to nostalgia within South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party for Soviet-era alliances against the West.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
Photo: file
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