A Russian warship arrived off South Africa’s main naval base on Friday to join Chinese and Iranian vessels in multinational military exercises, a deployment that risks further straining Pretoria’s relations with the United States.
According to AFP, the ship pulled into False Bay near Simon’s Town ahead of the opening of the week-long “Will for Peace 2026” drills, which bring together naval forces from an expanded group of emerging economies often referred to as BRICS Plus.
Russian naval movements toward southern Africa had already been tracked days earlier before Jan. 5, according to open-source maritime and defense monitoring. Moscow is reported to have dispatched the Steregushchiy-class corvette “Stoykiy,” carrying a Ka-27PL anti-submarine warfare helicopter, along with the Altay-class oiler “Yelnya” as an escort and logistics vessel.
BRICS navies convene at sea
Earlier in the week, a Chinese destroyer and replenishment ship, along with an Iranian forward base ship, entered South African waters to participate in the exercises.
The presence of Russian, Chinese, and Iranian vessels highlights growing military cooperation among countries often at odds with the US.
China is the lead nation in the Will for Peace 2026 exercise, which involves navies from the 11-nation BRICS grouping – originally Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – and expanded members including Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
South Africa’s navy said it would confirm details of participating vessels later Friday, and Deputy Defense Minister Bantu Holomisa told Newzroom Afrika that the UAE was also expected to send ships. Other BRICS nations, such as Indonesia, Ethiopia and Brazil, are set to send observers.
Aimed at cooperation, fraught with tension
South Africa’s defense force said the drills would allow participating navies “to exchange best practices and improve joint operational capabilities, which contributes to the safety of shipping routes and overall regional maritime stability.”
While the official theme emphasizes maritime safety and cooperation, the exercise takes place amid heightened global tensions. The United States has seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic and is confronting Tehran over other regional issues, moves that have underscored the frictions between Washington and several participants in the drills.
Diplomatic backlash and domestic debate
The deployment comes as South Africa’s relations with the US have strained, partly due to Trump’s incorrect assertion that Johannesburg is committing genocide against its white population.
Within South Africa, the exercises have drawn criticism. The Democratic Alliance, a major opposition party, has called for greater transparency on the drills, including details on costs, command structures and diplomatic implications, arguing that hosting naval forces from Russia and Iran – both under multiple sanctions regimes – could compromise the country’s neutrality and global standing.
“Calling these drills ‘BRICS cooperation’ is a political trick to soften what is really happening: Government is choosing closer military ties with rogue and sanctioned states such as Russia and Iran,” the Democratic Alliance said.
First BRICS+ maritime cooperation of its kind
The “Will for Peace 2026” event marks one of the first major naval cooperations under an expanded BRICS framework, bringing together traditional bloc members and newer partners on the high seas.
The maneuvers, originally scheduled for November 2025, were postponed due to a clash with the Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg. South African officials say the delay allowed for broader participation and preparation.