The second naval exercises organized by three BRICS countries have started in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of South Africa. An important signal coinciding with the 1st anniversary of the war in Ukraine.
Military maneuvers
The Mosi-2 maneuvers, which brought together South African, Russian and Chinese ships in the Indian Ocean, mark the “very serious entry of South Africa”, a major regional power, on the international scene. Igor Konovalov, a military expert and political analyst, told Sputnik.
“These exercises are, above all, a very important raising of the status of this sub-Saharan African power,” he said.
The training is also “an indicator of the independence of this Republic. The West expressed outrage at Pretoria’s announcement of its participation in the maneuvers. But it received a rather harsh response after trying to put pressure on South Africa.
“Thus, South Africa conducts its military and economic cooperation as a sovereign power,” notes Konovalov. notes Konovalov.
The exercises are being held under the flag of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), but they involve three countries that are part of an influential international bloc called BRICS. “The military interaction of the three countries in this bloc is also a very important factor” in his opinion.
South Africa defends military exercises with China and Russia
The second naval exercises organized by three BRICS countries have started in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of South Africa. An important signal coinciding with the 1st anniversary of the war in Ukraine.
South Africa’s military has defended its decision to host controversial naval exercises with Russia and China that began Wednesday, shortly before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and which have Westerners worried.
“There is a difference between the military and the political,” General Siphiwe Sangweni, head of joint operations in the South African armed forces, told a news conference at the eastern port of Richards Bay.
The army is “guided by the government” but must also learn new skills from other armies to protect the country and contribute to international peacekeeping missions, he said.
The Russians are jubilant: Russia is not isolated!
According to Russian media, “in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the Mosi-2 naval exercises have ended, in which the navies of Russia, China and South Africa participated. Predictably, the maneuvers caused fear and anger in Western countries. Specifically, not even the maneuvers themselves, but the demonstrative rapprochement of the Global South.”
“More importantly, South Africa was not previously in Russia’s sphere of military influence. Unlike, say, Algeria, Egypt or Sudan, whose armies are almost entirely equipped with Soviet and Russian weapons. This means that South Africa – against the will of the West – not only continues its military rapprochement with Russia, but starts it all over again,” the same sources add.