The South African Defence Ministry has stuck by its guns that the maritime exercises will take place in Durban and Richards Bay in Kwa-Zulu National from 17 to 27 February 2023.
The International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor confirmed this at a press briefing on Tuesday where she was hosting her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov for bilateral political consultation on Monday in Pretoria.
This follows reports that the United States government had expressed its unhappiness at the scheduled maritime exercise with Russia in South Africa.
America and Nato have been giving financial and military support to Ukraine since the invasion of the country by Russia in February 2022.
America, through the United Nations has also imposed sanctions on Russia while South Africa voted against the sanctions saying it preferred dialogue to end the war in Ukraine. America has tried to lean on South Africa to join its campaign against Russia, but this country has stood its group.
Pandor said it is important for countries to respect the sovereignty of nations and avoid double standards. “So I just think it is important that we regard all countries as sovereign nations and not stop doing so when it suits us”.
Pandor said the South African government decides “who we relate to and on what basis. This is our foreign policy position”.
“I wish to preface my comment by saying I reiterate the view of South Africa that multilateralism and dialogue are key to unlocking international peace. I reiterate that view because that is the South African position.
“We continued and will continue to urge that there should be diplomatic solutions and processes to this current conflict. Because we regard war as terrible. We regard war as negative for development and for world security.
“So we will continue to call for that and we will reiterate our view that the concern of both nations must be addressed in the process of diplomacy,” said Pandor.
The Ministry of Defence said over 350 SANDF members from various Arms of Service will participate in exercise “MOSI II” alongside their Russian and Chinese counterparts.
Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Thandi Modise, said she is confident the military exercise will benefit all three nations.
“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”.
The defense force says exercise “MOSI II will serve as a platform for the three nations to share operational skills, expertise and experience”.