Ataman Dulkadiroglu
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters during the BRICS Ministrial meeting which was held in Beijing, China in 2018 that the bloc will not become a military alliance.
Geng, however, stated that BRICS plans to deepen political and security cooperation from economic collaboration. But the latest China, Russia, South Africa naval drills off the South Africa’s Indian Ocean coast indicate that the powerful Bloc has already been turned into a military coalition.
BRICS, an acronym famously coined by British economist Jim O’Neill from Goldman Sachs, stands for five the leading emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. BRIC leaders, the initial members exclusing South Africa then, had first high level meeting during G8 Outreach Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia on July 2006 and their foreign ministers met on the sidelines of the General Debate of the UN Assembly in New York City in September 2006. The 1st BRIC summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia on 16 June 2009 and South Africa was accepted as a full member at the BRIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New York, in September 2010. Obviously the name changed to BRICS.
BRICS countries make up 41% of the world’s population, combined total are of 29.3 percent of the land surface of the world, 24 percent of global GDP and 16 percent of world trade. The bloc are considered the foremost rival of the develop economies of G7 group. South Africa is the smallest economy in the club but the county is the biggest economy in the African continent and thanks to its strong institutions, having long been heralded as the ‘gateway to Africa’. BRICS members agreed during the fifth BRICS summit in Durban, South Africa, in March 2013 to create a BRICS Development Bank to cooperate with the western-dominated IMF and World Bank. Pretoria government invited major African countries to the BRICS summits in South Africa for them to benefit from the BRICS countries in areas such as energy, information and communications technology, rail and road infrastructure, agriculture and food security. Many African countries see the bloc as an alternative to IMF and World Bank. Hence BRICS established New Development Bank, Contingent Reserve Arrangement, BRICS payment system, and BRICS basket reserve currency to provide loans to African countries with low interest rate.
However, since the recent years, geopolitics has rapidly changed as the then US President, Donald Trump, has launched economic war on China in 2018 and Covid-19 pandemic had huge negative impact on developing economies.
Moreover, the US goverment and EU countries imposed tough sanctions on Moscow goverment since Russia invaded Ukraine. The isolated Russia has been trying to take advantage of its close relationship with Pretoria. South Africa’s military exercise receive huge criticism and condemnation from Western nations as the 10-day tri-nation naval Exercise Mosi II off the coast of Durban and Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal province coincided with the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“…Russia will practice and test its Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic missile during Exercise Mosi II and make us complicit in their war crimes. It is obvious what the objective of the ‘Admiral Gorshkov’ warship with her capability to carry and launch the hypersonic Tsirkon missile is. Russia’s clear objective with Exercise Mosi II is to abuse SA for their propaganda against the west…”, Kobus Marais, South Africa’s main opposition Democratic Alliance deputy and the party’s Shadow Minister of Defence and Military Affairs said to criticise the ruling party in his statement.
Liubov Abravitova, Ukraine’s ambassador to Southern Africa also harshly criticised the Pretoria government: “It is very disturbing, that South Africa is hosting a military exercise with the country – an aggressor, invader – that is using its military force against a peaceful country, bringing destruction and trying to eliminate the Ukrainian Nation”.
The US House of Representatives also strongly criticised South Africa’s hosting and participating the military drill with Russia and China and has called for the Joe Biden Administration to review its relations with South Africa. However, South Africa’s Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Thandi Modise says that Exercise Mosi II “will serve as a platform for the three nations to share operational skills, expertise and experience”.
South African military is keen to improve its operational capacity by having join military exercise with foreing nations as the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and France had the biennial maritime Exercise Oxide in November 2022 at the Simon’s Town Naval Base. And SANDF held Exercise Shared Accord together with the United States Armed Forces counterparts in KwaZulu-Natal last year and the SA Defence Ministry informed that it had engagements with counterparts in the United Kingdom, China, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.
As South Africa is situated on the very key sea route that connects the Atlantic and Indian Ocean, Pretoria plans to benefit more from its geo-strategic position. Pretoria pursues multi-national foreign policy and Pretoria’s joint military exercise with the BRICS members are understandable.
South Africa has world’s richest untapped minerals and the country needs foreign direct investments. On the other hand, defence relations with the world’s military giant such as China and Russia are more complicated than having trade relations with them. South Africa’s Naval forces had not been upgraded for decades and the country should better spent resources to meet basic SA Naval reguirements. Having a joint drill exercise with Russia on the anniversary of Ukrained War contradicted with South Africa’s neutral position in Russia-Ukraine War. And thanks to MOSI II, Russia has shown its presence in Southern Africa against the Western forces. Moscow already expanded its Naval forces in the Mediterrenean after having military base in Syria and now seen as reaching to the Cape Town shores.
The details of South Africa’s military drill with Russia and China are unknown. Was the naval exercise one time deal or these drills will continue with China and Russia? South Africa is a new democracy and had not been able to achieve its economic freedom since established multinational firms still monopolise the economy.
Having joint military operations with the major powers such as USA, France, China and Russia will give these major powers more maneuver in the southern coasts but that would put South Africa’s security at risk. Furthermore, with BRICS becoming a military allinance, that makes South Africa a battle ground for major powers.