Chinese, Russian and Iranian warships have arrived in South African waters for a week of naval drills as geopolitical tensions run high over the United States’s military intervention in Venezuela and its seizures of several oil tankers.
China’s defence ministry said in a statement on Friday that the exercises, set to kick off with an opening ceremony on Saturday, are “joint operations to safeguard vital shipping lanes and economic activities”.
Strikes on maritime targets and “counter-terrorism” rescues will be part of the drills, it said.
Chinese, Russian and Iranian ships were seen moving into and out of the harbour that serves South Africa’s top naval base in Simon’s Town, south of Cape Town, where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean.
It was not immediately clear if other countries from the BRICS group – which also includes Brazil, India and the United Arab Emirates, among others – would take part in the drills.
A spokesperson for the South African armed forces said he wasn’t yet able to confirm all the countries participating in the drills, which are due to run until next Friday.
South Africa’s defence force said the event will allow the navies “to exchange best practices and improve joint operational capabilities, which contributes to the safety of shipping routes and overall regional maritime stability”.
The exercises come amid heightened tensions after the US military attacked the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, on Saturday and abducted the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro.
The Trump administration has also been seizing Venezuela-linked oil tankers in international waters, including a Russian-flagged vessel in the North Atlantic that Washington said had violated US sanctions.
The seizure drew rebuke from Moscow, with the Russian authorities describing the incident as a violation of international maritime law.
But Trump dismissed international law in an interview with The New York Times on Thursday, saying only his “own morality” can curb his administration’s aggressive policies.
Washington has also threatened to take action against Tehran over the Iranian authorities’ recent crackdown on mass demonstrations in the country.
The joint BRICS naval drills are expected to further strain ties between the US and South Africa, which has been especially targeted for criticism by the Trump administration.
The exercises were initially scheduled for November of last year but were postponed due to a scheduling clash with the G20 summit in Johannesburg.
Asked about the timing of the event, South Africa’s Deputy Defence Minister Bantu Holomisa said it was planned long before these tensions we are witnessing today”.
“Let us not press panic buttons because the USA has got a problem with countries,” Holomisa said. “Those are not our enemies.”
South Africa’s willingness to host Russian and Iranian warships has also been criticised inside the country, with the Democratic Alliance – the second largest political party in the coalition government – saying it was opposed.
“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 party said.
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