“Operation Mosi II”: South Africa starts maneuvers with Russia and China

The country’s naval maneuvers with Russia and China begin off the coast of South Africa – sealed off from the public. The South African opposition has criticized the exercise in which the Russian Navy plans to test its new hypersonic missile.

In the Indian Ocean off the coast of South Africa, Russia, China and South Africa want to start joint naval maneuvers. The ten-day campaign is called “Operation Mosi II”, which means “Operation Rauch II” in the local Tswana language. The maneuver takes place in front of the port city of Durban. It is difficult to say whether it has actually started – media coverage has been restricted, journalists are not allowed to observe what is happening. In the capital Pretoria, supporters of Ukraine demonstrated in front of the Russian consulate against Russia’s participation in the exercise.

The maneuver coincides with the anniversary of the Russian attack on Ukraine next Friday. It will strengthen the “already flourishing relationship between South Africa, Russia and China,” said the South African army leadership.

All three countries, along with India and Brazil, belong to the so-called BRICS group of up-and-coming emerging countries. So far, South Africa has remained neutral on the Russian war in Ukraine and also abstained in a UN vote condemning the war.

Russia wants to test hypersonic missile

Three Chinese Navy ships and one South African ship are expected to take part. Russia sends the frigate “Soviet Admiral Gorshkov” and a tanker. Upon arrival in Cape Town Harbour, the “Gorshkov” bore the letters Z and V on its sides, which are believed to symbolize support for Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The ship had recently been modernized at a shipyard. It is said to have been equipped with “Zirkon” type hypersonic missiles – according to the Russian state agency TASS, the maneuver is intended to be the first time a real target is fired at with the missile.

It is designed as an anti-ship missile and is said to have a long range. The information about their possible speed vary between more than five times the speed of sound and more than 9000 km / h. Either way, it should be virtually uninterceptable to anti-aircraft defenses. It can also potentially carry a nuclear warhead.

Criticism from the EU and the opposition

The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had previously criticized the “Mosi” maneuver and spoke of a “matter of serious concern”. Under no circumstances are African states expected to choose a side in the conflict with Russia, stressed Borrell – but they certainly do expect to defend the UN Charter.

There was also domestic criticism in South Africa: the opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, said it showed that the country was not neutral in Russia’s war. Opposition politician Herman Mashaba said at the beginning of the week: “There are concerns that the ANC government could contribute to an escalation of the war. Instead, it should respect international law and follow Nelson Mandela’s dream of strengthening human rights on the international stage.” The ANC is South Africa’s ruling party, which included the late Nelson Mandela.

At the beginning of the week, the expert Steven Gruzd from the South African Institute for International Affairs (SAIIA) in Johannesburg described the timing of the maneuver as particularly unfortunate. Because of the anniversary of the Ukraine attack, it will draw close attention to South Africa’s crumbling human rights record, he said.