South Africa-Russia bilateral meeting in Pretoria
Reuters

South African Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs, Thandi Modise, defended the upcoming maritime exercise with the Russian and Chinese navies saying that 'no hype' was raised when similar exercises were held with other countries.

The impending military exercise in which South Africa will host the Russian and Chinese navies as part of a multilateral maritime exercise that starts on February 17 has received substantial criticism, to which the South African government has reacted.

According to Thandi Modise the three navies would immensely benefit from the exercise. "The envisaged exercise will benefit all countries involved through interoperability of the naval systems, joint disaster systems management enhancement, maritime cooperation, and anti-piracy exercises," she said, as per a statement released by the Government of South Africa.

She further noted that the South African militaries have recently engaged in combat with adversaries from the UK, the People's Republic of China, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, and Ghana. None of these nations received any 'hype', notably not the United States of America. "There was no hype about any of these countries, especially about the United States of America, wherein we held an even longer exercise, known as Exercise Shared ACCORD in KwaZulu-Natal last year regarding our military health capabilities," said Modise.

According to the minister, the exercise, known as Exercise Mosi II, will give the three countries a forum to exchange operational knowledge, experience, and abilities. The three naval forces will participate in this drill for the second time; the first one took place in Cape Town in November 2019, according to the department.

Alongside their Russian and Chinese counterparts, more than 350 members of the SANDF from different Arms of Services and Divisions will participate in Exercise Mosi II this year.

Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, stated that Moscow does not want any "scandals" around upcoming joint naval exercises between Russia, China, and South Africa.

He made the comments at a news conference Monday during a visit to South Africa.

While South Africa and Russia have previously participated in combined naval drills, in 2019 they coincide with the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its ongoing conflict with Kyiv.

By declining to denounce the Kremlin's incursion in a U.N. vote last year, Pretoria has formally maintained its "neutral" stance on the crisis.

The Democratic Alliance, South Africa's largest opposition party, however, claims that the African National Congress has taken a side by hosting Russian warships.

Dr. Naledi Pandor, South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation has restated the country's stance that adhering to the values of the United Nations Charter and engaging in diplomacy and conversation are the only ways to achieve peace. This includes the idea that all Member States will try to resolve conflicts amicably.

"It is important that I mentioned on behalf of South Africa, our sincere wish that the conflict currently between Russia and Ukraine will soon be brought to a peaceful end through diplomacy and negotiation, as we believe this is the desire of all of us in the globe," she said, according to a statement by the Government of South Africa.

Pandor made the statement while extending a warm welcome to Sergey Lavrov, her Russian colleague, who was visiting Pretoria for bilateral talks.