Russia to hold naval exercise with South Africa and China in February.

According to information published by Tass on January 23, 2023, naval drills involving ships of South Africa, Russia and China will take place in South Africa between February 17 and 27 in order to strengthen multilateral ties between the three countries, the South African Department of Defense said.
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Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov. (Picture source: Tass)

The drills will take place in the Indian Ocean in the area of the port city of Durban and Richards Bay (located 87 nautical miles apart), it said adding the exercise aims at exchanging operational skills and knowledge and should strengthen the already prosperous relations between the states.

South Africa will be represented with a contingent of 350 servicemen of various branches of the armed forces, which will operate in close cooperation with Russian and Chinese counterparts.

The Department of Defense also noted that the first trilateral exercise took place in November 2019 near South Africa’s Cape Town. It said that Russia is expected to be represented by two warships. The drills will train artillery fire and air defense.