By Magnus Schekelmann
From January 9th to 17th, South Africa hosted a naval exercise with Russia, China, and Iran. This not only sparked heated domestic debates but was also a bold strategic move considering South Africa’s claim to follow a non-alignment foreign policy. South Africa’s recent engagement with other BRICS states has been perceived as a gradual movement against non-alignment. In an increasingly polarized world, it is difficult for South Africa to perform the tightrope act between its engagement in BRICS and its official non-alignment policy.
The naval exercise called “Will for Peace” was held near the South African naval base just south of Cape Town. Although held in South African waters, the exercise was led by China and involved two Russian and Chinese ships, and a number of Iranian and South African ships.
This naval exercise is not the first that South Africa has led with China and Russia. The first joint exercise, called “Mosi”, took place in 2019 but received rather little attention. The second exercise, held in 2023, “Mosi II”, however, sparked outrage due to its placement exactly one year after Russia invaded Ukraine. “Mosi III”, later renamed “Will for Peace”, was originally scheduled for late November 2025 but was postponed because South Africa was hosting a summit of the G20’s political leaders at that time.
The “Will for Peace” exercise exacerbated tensions between South Africa and the United States of America. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized South Africa for supporting allegedly “bad actors on the world stage”. As a response to its ties to Iran, Trump cut foreign aid and raised tariffs to 30% on imports from South Africa. Furthermore, he accused South African President Cyril Ramaphosa of failing to protect the white minority and of committing a so-called “white genocide”, although these accusations are widely considered to be unfounded.
However, South Africa remains economically dependent on the U.S regarding the creation of jobs and foreign trade. In an interview with the BBC, William Gumede, a professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, claimed that South Africa “cannot afford to alienate the U.S.” because the American contribution to its economy is higher than that of the BRICS nations. The decision to perform a military exercise with Iran and Russia is a risky manoeuvre considering its economic dependency on the U.S.
In addition to an increasingly tumultuous relationship with the U.S., the exercise has also been criticized within South Africa. Up until 2024, the African National Congress (ANC) held a majority in parliament. The ANC views Russia as its ideological ally because of its support in fighting against the apartheid regime. Now that the ANC has formed a coalition with the pro-Western Democratic Alliance (DA) it has criticised this military exercise because it would dilute South Africa’s neutral position and non-alignment policies in opposition to its most powerful Democratic benefactor, the U.S. Moreover, the South African parliament was reportedly not informed beforehand about details of the manoeuvre and the diplomatic consequences which led to tensions within parliament and the DA’s disapproval.
The politically based BRICS alliance is treading a fine line between cooperation and opposition to its Western allies. In 2024 and 2025, it was expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE, and Indonesia. Unlike other intergovernmental organizations, it has no formal structure and vague agenda. However, it was recently used as a platform by the Russian president Putin to advocate for the idea of a new multipolar world order. This also reflects the recent expansion by which BRICS tried to position itself as a geopolitical counterweight to the West. The countries new to the alliance are all economically or strategically important to restrict the sphere of influence of the West in Africa and Asia.
The “Will for Peace” exercise shows that in an increasingly polarized world; it is hard for South Africa to credibly sustain their official non-alignment policy. Although declared to be an exercise for maritime security, the involvement of Russia and Iran carries a political message, especially regarding its relationship to the U.S. Ultimately, the coming years will be crucial to see if South Africa can sustain this balancing act between the West and their other partners.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own, and may not reflect the opinions of The St Andrews Economist.