Playing Footsie with Bears and Dragons
28 February 2023
Exercise Mosi II between South African, Russian and Chinese naval vessels off Richards Bay concluded on 27 February. It was the second exercise involving the three countries, the first of which took place off the coast of Cape Town in 2019.
Since then the world has changed: the competition/confrontation between China and the United States has intensified – and, most crucially, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has resulted in deep divisions within the international community. Provocatively, the naval exercise took place during the first anniversary of the invasion.
Last week – on 24 February – the UN General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution in which it called on Russia to end hostilities and withdraw its forces from Ukraine. The resolution was supported by 141 countries; 32 abstained – including South Africa, China and India - and seven voted against – Russia, Belarus, Nicaragua, Syria, North Korea, Eritrea and Mali.
In its explanation of the vote, the South African representative went through diplomatic contortions that would have made an Olympic gymnast gasp in admiration: although South Africa believed that “the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of all States (including Ukraine) should be sacrosanct”, it had not voted for the resolution because “the international community had been unable to come up with concrete proposals” to end the war. This was despite the resolution’s support for “the efforts of the Secretary-General and Member States to promote a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine, consistent with the [UN] Charter, including the principles of sovereign equality and territorial integrity of States.”