Hot on the heels of the diplomatic falling out between Washington and Pretoria, a delegation of the SA military is in Moscow for talks to boost co-operation in attaining mutual combat readiness.
Apart from taking place at the worst possible time in light of the past week’s diplomatic storm over allegations that SA supplied arms to Russia, military analysts have slated the military visit as not very useful for SA.
Lt-Gen Lawrence Mbatha, chief of the SA Army, is leading the talks with his Russian counterpart, Col-Gen Oleg Salyukov, according to the state-run Tass news agency quoting the Russian defence department.
The SA delegation was set to visit a number of training and educational facilities, as well as defence industry sites while in the country.
“Proceeding with the visit [of Mbatha] is imbecilic unless we intend to openly ally ourselves with Russia, which none of the other Brics countries are doing,” defence analyst Helmoed-Römer Heitman said.
Dr Nel Marais, a political and security analyst, said the visit indicated that SA was determined to strengthen closer and more comprehensive military co-operation with Russia.
Asked what the army could learn from the Russian armed forces considering the invasion of Ukraine has been mired in mishaps on the Russian side, Heitman said it would certainly not enhance levels of quality among SA soldiers.
“We can learn how not to prepare — false assumptions based on poor intelligence; inadequate reconnaissance, logistics and medical support; lack of joint operations planning and capability; unserviceable equipment; poor tactical drills; deploying elements outside their supporting organisation; command turmoil and many more.”
It came at a cost to the SA defence industry. “Longer-term implications could include difficulty in obtaining support for our Western-sourced military equipment. And, of course, the catastrophe of our key investors and trading partners turning their backs on us,” he said.
According to Tass, the SA delegation’s visit to the Russian capital began with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Kremlin wall in central Moscow.
The official part of talks took place at the general command headquarters, where SA and Russian army officials discussed issues of military co-operation, and the implementation of projects geared towards enhancing the combat readiness of the two countries’ armies. “The meeting between the military commanders yielded agreements on the further expansion of co-operation between the land forces in various areas,” Tass reported.
SA’s department of defence confirmed that Mbatha was in Russia for bilateral meetings with the military establishment. The meeting was planned well in advance “and it must be emphasised that the bilateral is a long-standing arrangement”, defence spokesperson Brig-Gen Andries Mahapa said in a statement on Monday.
Mbatha received the invitation from his Russian counterpart for a goodwill visit, which includes a visit to the army and its artillery military academy.
“During this visit, the chief of the SA Army will also have staff talks with military officials. It must be noted that SA has military-to-military bilateral relations with various countries in the continent and beyond. The SANDF [SA National Defence Force] receives numerous military delegations into the country and sends its own delegation to other countries to discuss matters of mutual interest.”
Reuben Brigety, the US ambassador to Pretoria, last week accused SA of secretly providing arms to Russia. He linked the transfer of armaments to the secretive docking of a Russian cargo vessel, the Lady R, at Simon’s Town Naval Base on December 6 last year.
A flurry of diplomatic interventions followed after Brigety’s revelations with President Cyril Ramaphosa phoning President Vladimir Putin. International relations & co-operation minister Naledi Pandor summoned Brigety for a meeting in Pretoria after which her department said he “apologised unreservedly”.
Brigety in turn only confirmed that he appreciated the opportunity at the meeting to “correct any misimpressions left by my public remarks. In our conversation, I reaffirmed the strong partnership between our two countries.”
Pandor had a telephone conversation with her US counterpart, Antony Blinken, who confirmed that mutual relations between SA and the US were on a firm footing.
The US embassy last night indicated that it would not comment on the SA Army’s Russian visit.
Kobus Marais, the DA shadow minister for defence, commented on the visit by Mbatha to Russia, saying: “This once again demonstrates the ANC government’s callousness and insensitivity to our diplomatic and trade dilemma.
“This unsolicited visit is also just the latest incident in a string where the SA government clearly and unashamedly demonstrates its support for Russia.”
A number of SA fighter pilots and army engineers have undergone advanced training in Russia, while various other military students have also been studying at military institutions in the country. At the time of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, SA military students were still undergoing training.
In February this year SA and the defence force was widely criticised for conducting a joint naval exercise dubbed “Mosi II” with Russia and China along the east coast of SA.
The timing of the exercise — the second of its kind with two of its Brics partners — was condemned by the West because it coincided with the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 2022.
SA will host the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China at the 15th Brics summit from 22 to 24 August 2023. President Vladimir Putin is due to attend despite the International Criminal Court (ICC) in March issuing a warrant for his arrest over war crimes in Ukraine.
The SA government, as a signatory to the Rome Statute on which the ICC is based, is obliged under SA law to detain Putin on arrival in the country.
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