South African Naval Exercise Goes From Bad to Worse
By mid-week, the Chinese-led BRICs naval "Exercise Will for Peace 2026”, now taking place in Cape Town, had already become a diplomatic disaster. Iran’s involvement alongside China and Russia threatened to cost South Africa its favorable trade status when the African Growth and Opportunity Act comes up for review in the U.S. House of Representatives this week. The Iranian participation also invited the United States to include South Africa alongside others that have had 25 percent tariffs imposed upon them for maintaining links with Iran. Nor was it a good look generally for South Africa to be cozying up to Iran whilst thousands of protestors are being killed in ongoing street protests.
But in a post for the welcoming ceremonies and before the sea-going phase of the exercise commenced on January 13, South Africa’s office of the presidency let it be known that the Iranians had been asked to withdraw from active participation in the exercise, and to take on observer status instead. The Iranians apparently acceded to the request.
However, dockside observers noted early on January 13 that the Iranian corvette IRINS Naghdi (F82) had left the Simon’s Town Naval Base, along with Chinese, Emirati, Russian, and South African vessels, to take part in the sea-going exercise. This was followed up by a post, swiftly deleted, on the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Facebook account, which listed IRINS Naghdi amongst the deploying vessels. It appears, therefore, that the South African Ministry of Defence and Headquarters SANDF had deliberately ignored and had probably countermanded the instructions of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who constitutionally is the SANDF Commander-in-Chief.
The Iranian Navy corvette IRINS Naghdi (F82) alongside in the Simon’s Town Naval Base (Screengrab from Times New World)
This political ill-discipline within the South African government follows a pattern of events which started last September, when the Maritime Executive noted that SANDF Chief of Staff General Rudzani Maphwanya had visited Tehran to issue an invitation to the exercise, a visit not apparently approved beforehand by President Cyril Ramaphosa. President Ramaphosa objected to the visit, but did not fire General Maphwanya for his freelancing in the political arena, nor his Minister of Defence Angie Motshekga, who had protected the General and given him top cover. South African opposition politicians are warning that such behavior is potentially a precursor to a military takeover of the government.
“Exercise Will for Peace 2026” has very little military significance, with the sea-going phase merely a passage exercise without any attempt to conduct anti-submarine or anti-aircraft drills, and without even attempts to practice boarding and counter-boarding operations. It has only served to cement military relations, through sporting and ceremonial events, between a group of nations whose common characteristic is that they are engaged in offensive military actions against neighboring states.
Chinese warship Tanghsan off-South-Africa (Defence Force)
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The saga does not appear to be over yet, and observers are continuing to watch the Simon’s Town Naval Base to see when the Iranian naval vessels depart, in which direction, and whether they will join up with the Iranian Navy’s 104th Flotilla, which left Bandar Abbas at the same time as the Iranian ships participating in “Exercise Will for Peace 2026.”
It also now appears unlikely that the Russian and Chinese vessels will travel on in company with the Iranian vessels to take part in the annual Maritime Security Belt exercise, which is normally held in Iranian waters in the first three months of the year.
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