China, Russia and BRICS allies to hold joint naval drills off South Africa

China will hold naval and air exercises with Russia, South Africa and other BRICS countries off South Africa's coast in early to mid January, China's defence ministry said in a statement released on Friday.

The ministry called the exercises, "joint operations to safeguard vital shipping lanes and economic activities." Strikes on maritime targets and counter-terrorism rescues will be part of the drills, it said.

Originally formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China, the BRICS group later added South Africa and recently expanded to include other developing nations including Indonesia, Iran and Saudi Arabia. The Chinese defence ministry did not specify how many BRICS nations will participate in the exercises.