Anger at ‘neutral’ South Africa announces ‘immoral’ joint foreign war games with Russia and China over Putin’s invasion of Ukraine

The South African government has finally shown its colors and sided with the dictators by inviting Russia and China to war games next month.

After months of appeasement of the Russian massacre in Ukraine, Cyril Ramaphosa abandoned his supposed “neutrality” on the war by organizing naval exercises along the country’s east coast near Durban and Richards Bay on February 17-27.

The move is the strongest hint yet of strengthening ties between South Africa, whose ruling ANC party is believed to be pocketed by a sanctioned Moscow oligarch, and the anti-Western authoritarian regimes of China and Russia.

The “multinational maritime exercise” was denounced by South Africa’s leading newspaper, the Daily Maverick, as “immoral, stupid and impractical”.

The exercises will take place around the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and draw more attention to South Africa’s refusal – a leading voice on its continent – to side with the West and condemn Russia’s actions.

The announcement also comes days before Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is to visit South Africa and hold talks with his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor.

The South African government said last year that it had taken a neutral stance on Ukraine and called for dialogue and diplomacy.

But the upcoming naval exercises have prompted the country’s main opposition party to accuse the government of effectively siding with Russia.

The South African government denies that they are taking sides and calls for an end to the war in Ukraine.

But the South African National Defense Force (SADF), which includes all its forces, said next month’s naval exercise would “strengthen already flourishing ties between South Africa, Russia and China.”

According to SANW, the aim of the exercises was “the exchange of operational skills and knowledge”.

The three countries also held a similar naval exercise in Cape Town in 2019, while Russia and China held joint naval exercises in the East China Sea last month.

South Africa, a key Western partner, was one of many African countries to abstain in a United Nations vote condemning the Russian invasion last year.

The United States and the European Union hoped that South Africa would support international condemnation of Russia and act as a leader for other nations in Africa.

The countries that voted against the resolution along with Russia were Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua and Syria.

The naval exercises will take place on February 17-27 on the country’s east coast near Durban and Richards Bay.

The Chinese navy frigate Binzhou will participate in joint naval exercises with Russian warships in December

South Africa and Russia share a long history after the Soviet Union supported the ANC in its fight against apartheid, the regime of oppression of the country’s black majority.

Apartheid ended in 1994 when the ANC won South Africa’s first democratic election and Nelson Mandela became president.

Along with Brazil, Russia, India and China, South Africa is also a member of BRICS, a bloc of emerging economies.

South Africa is seen by some as a token member of a group of economic superpowers, and the government is keen to be part of the group it sees as a counterbalance to Western dominance.

South Africa has a $25 billion stake in the BRICS New Development Bank and members have unlimited drawing rights if they need to stabilize their currency.

Given China and Russia’s large foreign exchange reserves, South Africa is determined to keep BRICS members happy for its own financial gain.

In 2014, a massive $50 billion deal was struck between disgraced former president Jacob Zuma, now accused of corruption, and the Russian energy company Rosatom to build eight nuclear power plants in South Africa.

Vladimir Putin tried to invest in South Africa, and the country remained a cautious ally despite the war

Cyril Ramaphosa abandoned his alleged “neutrality” on the war by hosting naval exercises

The deal was finally scrapped in April 2017 when a court ruled it illegal.

But it left a big hole in the finances of the ANC, which has been plagued by corruption for decades.

It was revealed last year that the biggest stake in the in-party investment firm was manganese mining group United Manganese of Kalahari, which donated around £500,000 to the ANC in the 2021-2022 financial year.

The company is partly owned by Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg’s conglomerate Renova Group.

Vekselberg has an estimated net worth of almost £8 billion and his links to Putin earned him sanctions in March last year.

Experts have warned of growing Russian military influence in Africa since it first annexed parts of Ukraine in 2014.

Improving relations with South Africa is at the heart of US efforts to limit Russian and Chinese influence.

The South African government drew more attention to its stance on Russia in October when it allowed a $500 million superyacht owned by oligarch Alexey Mordashov to dock in Cape Town

The South African government drew more attention to its stance on Russia in October when it allowed a $500 million superyacht owned by oligarch Alexey Mordashov to dock in Cape Town despite being under US and EU sanctions wash.

The 57-year-old billionaire named in the Pandora Papers owns the Russian mining companies Nordgold and Severstal.

With a net worth of $13.2 billion, Forbes ranked Mordashov as the 51st richest person in the world last year, but Western sanctions have pushed the oligarch back down the world wealth list since this year.

“South Africa has no legal obligation to comply with the sanctions imposed by the US and the EU,” said Vincent Magwenya, then spokesman for the South African president. “We have no reason to prevent their entry into South Africa.

South Africa’s commitments in relation to sanctions only relate to those expressly accepted by the United Nations. There are currently no UN sanctions against the individual in question.’

The South African government has also been accused of allowing another sanctioned Russian ship to dock at a naval base near Cape Town in December.