War games nothing more than an expensive publicity stunt

20 January 2023

Note to editors: Please find attached English  and Afrikaans soundbites by Kobus Marais MP.

The planned naval exercise, Mosi II, between Russia, China and South Africa in February along the KwaZulu-Natal coast is cause for concern.

Currently, most if not all of the South African Navy vessels are unserviceable and our maritime patrols and reconnaissance obligations are not fulfilled as required by our Constitution.  We hardly have enough resources to comply with the basic SA naval requirements and obligations to protect the nation’s integrity and secure the safety of our people. To waste money this fruitless exercise is irrational, irresponsible and unacceptable. There can be little if any real benefit for the SANDF given the enormous resource constraints it has to deal with on a daily basis.

Our first priority must be essential maintenance and upgrades to our naval vessels. This will also be bad value for our taxpayer’s money.

It is an awkward time in global geopolitical history due to the Russian war in Ukraine and the devastation of civilian targets in Ukraine. While our government has claimed to be neutral, this is just another of many incidents where the ANC has clearly exposed their favoritism towards Russia, and has in fact done nothing but to showcase and proof government’s biased.

As the clear dominant partner in Exercise Mosi II, it is obvious that the value for Russia is to showcase its geopolitical influence in southern Africa as part of their global war games against NATO and the USA.

The DA will not stop to oppose this silly exercise, and we will proceed to fight for the best and sustained interests of all South Africans within the broader international trade environment.

Issued by Kobus Marais, DA Shadow Minister of Defence and Military Affairs, 20 January 2023