South Africa allowed this false perception to spread as a symbolic act of defiance against Trump given his hatred of BRICS, whose members and partners were invited to this drill, and to signal to the domestic audience that their country has friends across the world amidst its tensions with the US.
Most folks have probably heard about the “BRICS naval drill” that recently took place in South African waters, which prompted a complaint from the US due to Iran’s participation. The South African Defense Minister had earlier defended the drill, to which all BRICS Plus countries were invited, as planned before the US’ seizure of a Russian-flagged tanker and aimed at ensuring safety on the high seas. All the while, the world was left with the impression that this was indeed a “BRICS naval drill”, which wasn’t true.
India chose not to participate and released a statement reading that “We clarify that the exercise in question was entirely a South African initiative in which some BRICS members took part. It was not a regular or institutionalised BRICS activity, nor did all BRICS members take part in it. India has not participated in previous such activities. The regular exercise that India is a part of in this context is the IBSAMAR maritime exercise that brings together the navies of India, Brazil and South Africa.”
Amidst the fake news about BRICS that’s been spread by Alt-Media, all of which centers on the false notion that it’s an allied bloc that assembled against the West, it’s understandable why many believed that this was a “BRICS naval drill”. India’s clarification that it wasn’t dispelled the perception that it’s distancing itself from the group, which is another falsehood peddled by Alt-Media, and reaffirmed that BRICS isn’t a security organization unlike what some of its enthusiasts hope that it one day becomes.
As for why India didn’t join the drill in which many of its BRICS Plus partners participated, it likely felt uncomfortable taking part in a non-obligatory exercise with China (unlike yearly SCO ones) amidst their unresolved border disputes and probably also didn’t want to risk angering the US given Trump’s hatred of BRICS. He’s been misled into thinking that its members are plotting to dethrone the dollar and consequently threatened tariffs against its members a year ago solely on that pretext.
He’s since imposed a 25% tariff on India for its purchase of Russian oil on top of the 25% “reciprocal” one that he earlier decreed for a total of 50% tariffs, however, and then threatened secondary ones for noncompliance with last fall’s energy-related sanctions against Russia. Any further tariffs upon India, regardless of the pretext, might have a noticeable effect on its economy and therefore the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. It’s therefore understandable why he’d want to avoid that.
South Africa is under US pressure just like India is, but officially over the Boer issue, though it was explained here how the US seeks to advance other interests on this pretext. The US also dislikes South Africa’s championing of the Palestinian cause and that it took Israel to the International Court of Justice over accusations of committing genocide during the recent war. Instead of playing it safe like India has and avoiding anything that could further provoke the US, South Africa organized the latest naval drill.
Only inviting its BRICS Plus partners might therefore have been meant as a symbolic act of defiance against Trump and to signal to the domestic audience that their country has friends across the world amidst its tensions with the US. That would explain why South Africa didn’t clarify that this wasn’t a “BRICS naval drill” and instead let that false perception spread to India’s chagrin. The reality is that no such “BRICS naval drill” was held and none might ever be organized due to the group’s economic focus.
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