Geopolitics of South Africa

The foreign policy of South Africa and the African continent

Today, most countries in the Global South remain on Russia's side, considering it their most important ally and supporter. Many African states are dissatisfied with the Western policy of spreading “freedom and democracy” and are aware of the West's colonial past in Africa. Modern political scientists believe that the key to the formation of a new world order may be the foreign policy stance of a large number of developing countries on the African continent, which in turn demonstrate increasing independence from the “liberal” camp represented by the countries of the collective West.

In the context of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Federation has successfully strengthened its cooperation with many countries on the African continent, which cannot fail to raise concerns from Western countries. In particular, this text will focus on the Republic of South Africa, its geopolitical position and its relations with the West and Russia.

South Africa is one of the most developed nations in Africa. Previously the country belonged to two colonial powers-the Netherlands and England. It was not until 1961 that the country gained independence and became the Republic of South Africa. By African standards, South Africa is economically rich and successful. But it is also not an outsider internationally: it is a member of the G20 and BRICS, has a powerful military and is a regional leader.

Since the launch of Special Military Operation, South Africa has not joined Western sanctions against Russia and has not supplied Kiev with weapons or military equipment. In addition, South Africa has conducted military exercises with Russian and Chinese troops in the Indian Ocean. It is also important to note that the former Soviet Union supported South Africa when apartheid reigned there. The people of southern Africa have not forgotten this assistance.

All this shows that in the context of confrontation between Russia and the West, South Africa maintains a pro-Russian stance and formulates its foreign policy on the basis of the idea of cooperation and maintaining relations with Russia.

Joint naval exercises and the Western position

In February, joint naval exercises of Russia, the PRC and the Republic of South Africa were held in the southern part of the Indian Ocean near the South African coast, which drew mixed reactions from world powers. The fact that the Russian ship was for the first time equipped with the Tsirkon hypersonic missile system added special significance to the naval exercises.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also stressed the importance of this campaign. “During the exercises, crew actions in the use of hypersonic weapons and long-range cruise missiles in various environmental conditions will be practiced”, he said. According to Admiral Viktor Kravchenko, former Chief of Staff of the Russian Navy, no other Navy in the world still has hypersonic weapons and means of protection against them.

The idea of holding joint naval exercises between South Africa, China and Russia has elicited mixed reactions from the international community. For example, David Feldman of the U.S. Embassy in South Africa said Washington is concerned about South Africa's plans to hold joint naval exercises with Russia and China. South African Defense Minister, Thandi Modise, rightly responded to this statement by saying that the United States is putting pressure on African countries that have relations with Russia. South Africa also expressed hope that joint naval exercises with Russia and China would continue on an annual basis.

According to Su Hao, head of the Center for Strategy and Peace Studies at the Chinese Diplomatic Academy, the joint exercises by South Africa, Russia and China worry the United States, which fears losing control of the Indian Ocean. Beijing believes that Washington generally views any close Chinese cooperation in areas along the “One Belt, One Road” and especially along the maritime Silk Road as a threat to itself.

Indeed, it is difficult to understand why U.S. exercises off the coast of China, for example, do not elicit questions from anyone, while Russian military exercises with Chinese and South African partners provoke “mixed reactions” and lend themselves to widespread publicity. The wide coverage of the event is but one element of an information war directed by the countries of the collective West against Russia. The information war is being used to undermine Russia's international credibility and to formulate negative public attitudes toward it.

Collective West policies toward South Africa

The countries of the collective West are dissatisfied and concerned with South Africa's alignment with Russia, which is why Polish MEPs Anna Zalewska and Elzbieta Krook, along with their Finnish and Estonian colleagues Teuvo Hakkarainen and Jaak Madison, have suggested to the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell that he consider suspending “funding to South Africa”.

First, the West lodged complaints against the South African, Chinese and Russian naval exercises held in February. South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, however, said that holding such events “with friends” is “a natural progression of relations”. Sergey Lavrov stressed that such events do not violate the norms of international law.

As a further argument in support of the idea of suspending South Africa's “funding”, the deputies cited the fact that South Africa had previously abstained at least twice from voting at the UN General Assembly on resolutions condemning Russia's actions in Ukraine.

“Given South Africa's position on Russia, does the Vice President-High Representative agree that any EU funding to South Africa should be deferred until further notice, and if not, why not?” - The politicians asked Borrell in light of the above.

They also asked the EU diplomatic chief if he intended to meet with Minister Pandor “to express the EU's concerns about South Africa's position on the Ukraine crisis”.

Thus, we can observe strong EU excitement about the strengthening of relations between Russia, South Africa and China. Many countries on the African continent are trying to build a partnership with Russia, which naturally meets with discontent in the West, which is losing the battle for influence on the African continent.

Summary and Conclusions

In summary, the African continent is currently of great interest to world powers. The future political situation and balance of power in the world largely depend on the foreign policy choices of African countries. At present, many African states are banking on partnership with Russia, naturally arousing the displeasure of the West.

South Africa is also determined to cooperate with Russia. For example, it has twice abstained from voting at the UN General Assembly on resolutions condemning Russia's actions in Ukraine. In addition, in February 2023, South Africa conducted joint naval exercises in the Indian Ocean with Russia and China. South Africa will also participate in the upcoming Russia-Africa summit to be held in St. Petersburg from July 26-29

For its part, South Africa's failure to impose sanctions against Russia because of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine has raised the concern of the collective West, which in turn wants to limit economic support to South Africa and thus achieve a change in its foreign policy. We will see how the situation develops.

Translation by Costantino Ceoldo