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South Africa To Participate In Naval Exercise With Russia And China, Reportedly Sparking Anger From Western Nations

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Brent Foster Contributor
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South Africa is drawing criticism from western countries as it remains set to host a joint naval exercise with Russia and China, Reuters reports.

Dubbed Mosi II, the exercise is slated to last 10 days and include Feb. 24, the one-year mark of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported Thursday. South Africa previously abstained from a 2022 United Nations (UN) vote to condemn Russian actions in Ukraine in order to maintain a neutral position on the matter.

The exercise will take place in the Indian Ocean and include 350 members of the South African National Defense Force (SANDF), according to the BBC. Admiral Gorshkov, a Russian warship equipped with Zircon hypersonic missiles that hold a range of 620 miles, will reportedly join the planned exercise.

Reports from the Russian TASS new agency suggest the warship carrying the missiles will execute a training launch during the exercise, according to Reuters. The SANDF denied the report, the outlet continued.

Six diplomats from European Union (EU) and NATO countries stationed in South Africa expressed condemnation for the exercise to the outlet. The South African defense ministry said in January the nation “has a right to conduct its foreign relations in line with its … national interests,” according to Reuters. (RELATED: Biden Announces $75 Million To Help Voter Registration In Africa)

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said his city “will not be complicit in Russia’s evil war” in a Feb. 13 Tweet. Protests against the planned exercise will take place in the South African cities of Cape Town and Durban, according to German news outlet DW.

Some analysts have pointed to the longstanding relationship of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party with Russia, as well as the reportedly underfunded state of the SANDF, as prompting South Africa to take part in the planned exercise, according to the BBC. Russia will utilize the planned exercise to maintain a globally viable military while China seeks to establish a stronger naval presence in the Indian Ocean, the outlet reported.

In working with Russia and China, South Africa risks alienating one of its largest trading partners, the EU, according to Reuters. Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, said in January the planned exercise “is something that is not the best thing that we would have preferred,” according to a European Union External Action Service (EEAS) press conference transcript.