Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov gets ready to leave Cape Town harbour en route to Durban where it is scheduled to do naval exercises with the South African and Chinese navies, in Cape Town, South Africa, February 15, 2023.
Image: Reuters
Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov gets ready to leave Cape Town harbour en route to Durban where it is scheduled to do naval exercises with the South African and Chinese navies, in Cape Town, South Africa, February 15, 2023.
A Republican member of the US Congress has introduced a resolution calling on the administration of President Joe Biden to review its relationship with South Africa.
This follows its hosting of joint-military exercises with China and Russia which are taking place off the northern KwaZulu-Natal coast this week.
South Africa’s naval exercise with Russia, China raises Western alarms:
The resolution, introduced by Representative John James of Michigan and submitted to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urges the South African government to cancel all future military exercises between the two countries.
It also calls on South Africa to respect the United Nations Charter and publicly oppose what it says is “Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine”.
It’s unclear when and if the resolution would be debated and or voted on.
The resolution seeks to highlight the strong relationship enjoyed between both the SA Government and the ruling ANC with Russian and Chinese entities and calls on the Biden administration to conduct a thorough review of the current and future status of its bilateral relationship in light of the South African Government’s international affairs posture and actions.
This includes a detailed account of the positive economic results stemming from South Africa’s inclusion in the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the US-South Africa Trade and Investment Framework signed in 2012.
The resolution also called on South Africa to maintain its national sovereignty by reducing its reliance on Chinese companies in key sectors, including ICT.
