We should not be playing war games with Iran, Russia and China

A man walks on the beach while three Iranian naval ships – the IRIS Makran, a corvette named Naghdi, and the IRIS Shahid Mahdavi – cruise in False Bay on the morning of 13 January. Photos: Brenton Geach

The Will for Peace 2026 joint naval exercise between South Africa, China, Russia, and Iran, which started in Simon’s Town last weekend, is a bad idea.

As the United States’s naked aggression leads the world into a period of more war and violence, there is a great incentive for all countries now to improve their military strength. And after the way we have been treated by the Trump administration, South Africa’s desire to make a point about our right to choose our own allies, even if they are adversaries of the United States, is understandable. But why on earth choose those countries? (Subsequently, Iran’s involvement appears to have been changed to observer status, but its warships are nevertheless in False Bay.)

Russia is descending into totalitarianism. It is waging a war of aggression against Ukraine and showing scant concern for the lives of Ukrainian civilians or indeed even its own young people who have died in their hundreds of thousands in Vladimir Putin’s war.

China is a totalitarian country. It has suppressed democracy in Hong Kong and it is preparing to take over Taiwan by force. If it succeeds, it will almost certainly extinguish freedoms there.

Iran is a theocracy at war with its own citizens. It executes with impunity and treats women appallingly. Thousands of protesters have reportedly been killed in the past weeks.

South Africa, in contrast, is a constitutional democracy with a bill of rights that has been an example to the world. Our bravest and most principled foreign policy move post-apartheid was to lodge a complaint of genocide against Israel with the International Court of Justice (ICJ). We wouldn’t dream of having military exercises with Israel. Why then do we host military exercises with countries that have such appalling human rights records? If anything, doing so undermines the moral authority of our government’s criticisms of Israel.

Some might argue that there are pragmatic, economic reasons to cosy up to these countries, especially in the light of the way South Africa has been snubbed by the US. But that argument does not hold up.

Iran’s trade with South Africa is tiny. In 2024 our imports were under $4-million and our exports less than $20-million. Also, if the Iranian government collapses, it is unlikely that whoever replaces it will look favourably upon countries that aligned with the theocracy’s military machine.

Russia was not even among the top 40 export markets for South Africa in 2024. We have very little to gain by cosying up to Russia militarily. While Putin may like to project Russia as a superpower, for its population and geographic size, it is an economic under-performer, running an economy sustained by war.

Germany, the UK and Netherlands are, on the other hand, among the top ten export markets for South Africa. Their relations with Russia have deteriorated to near-war and it cannot endear South Africa to them that we are doing military exercises with their enemy.

China is indeed our largest trading partner. But do we need to host the Chinese navy to maintain that? Do we need to risk being caught in the middle of a military showdown between China and the US should they go to war over Taiwan? Would we not do better to maintain the non-aligned position which has, wisely, been South Africa’s foreign policy stance since the end of apartheid?

The Trump Administration is tearing up the post World War II treaties. We are moving into an uncertain and dangerous era in international relations. While it may be tempting to cosy up to the US’s adversaries, we would do better to act in a principled, ethical and cautious way when choosing our military alliances.

The three Iranian naval ships on the evening of 13 January.

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