NEW DELHI, India – A joint naval exercise involving several members of the BRICS bloc, including China, Russia and Iran, has begun near South Africa’s coast, with South Africa saying the exercise is an important response to rising maritime tensions globally.
The week-long Will for Peace 2026 exercise, which began on Saturday, is being led by China in Simon’s Town, where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. According to the Chinese Ministry of Defense, this will include training on rescue operations, maritime attack operations, and technology exchanges.
The exercise, which involved warships from participating countries, took place amidst deteriorating relations between South Africa and the United States. The U.S. government views the bloc as an economic threat.
The BRICS acronym is derived from the initials of the founding member countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, with South Africa serving as the current chairman. However, India and Brazil refused to participate in the exercise.
So why is training important, what is its purpose? And why aren’t some of our founding members participating?
Who is participating in the training?
China and Iran sent destroyers, Russia and the United Arab Emirates sent corvettes, and South Africa sent a medium frigate.
Chinese officials who led the opening ceremony south of Cape Town on Saturday said Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia and Ethiopia were participating in the exercise as observers.
Speaking at the ceremony, South Africa’s Joint Task Force Commander Colonel Nndwakul Thomas Tamha said the exercise was more than just a military exercise or a statement of intent between the BRICS group.
The host country described it as a BRICS+ operation aimed at ensuring “the security of shipping and maritime economic activities.” BRICS Plus is an expansion that allows the geopolitical bloc to engage and court additional countries beyond its core members.
South African officials said all members of South African countries were invited to the training.
Iran joined this group in 2024. The bloc was expanded at the same time to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
Why are drills important?
South Africa has previously conducted naval exercises with China and Russia.
“This is an expression of our collective determination to work together,” Tamah said. “In an increasingly complex marine environment, such cooperation is not an option. It is essential.”
South Africa’s Defense Department said in a statement that this year’s exercise “reflects the joint commitment of all participating navies to protect maritime trade routes, strengthen common operating procedures and deepen cooperation in support of peaceful maritime security efforts.”
The ongoing exercises come amid heightened geopolitical tensions. The move comes just three days after the United States seized a Venezuelan-linked Russian oil tanker in the North Atlantic for violating Western sanctions.
The seizures followed a U.S. military operation that abducted President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from the capital Caracas, and a pledge by U.S. President Donald Trump to “run” Venezuela and exploit its vast oil reserves.
The Trump administration has also threatened military action against countries such as Cuba, Colombia and Iran, as well as Denmark’s semi-autonomous territory of Greenland.
How does President Trump view BRICS?
President Trump accused some BRICS countries of promoting “anti-American” policies.
As U.S. relations with China and Russia continue to deteriorate, President Trump has attacked Iran and imposed punitive tariffs on India for funding Russia’s war against Ukraine through purchases of Russian oil.
After taking office in January 2025, President Trump had threatened to impose 10% tariffs on all BRICS countries.
“When I heard about this group from the BRICS, I basically criticized them very harshly. And if it really formed in a meaningful way, it would be over very quickly,” Trump said in July before the annual summit of developing countries. “We can never let anyone play the game with us.”
In a joint statement in July, BRICS leaders defiantly voiced global concerns over “unilateral increases in tariff and non-tariff measures” and condemned the military attack on Iran, without mentioning the United States by name.
Who refused joint training and why?
Two of the founding members of the BRICS alliance, India and Brazil, do not participate in naval exercises.
Brasilia participated in the exercise as an observer, but New Delhi did not.
New Delhi stocks have tumbled in Washington since President Trump returned to the White House.
India’s purchase of Russian oil has become one of the biggest flashpoints in bilateral relations, with a trade deal at stake.
Harsh Pant, a geopolitical analyst at the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank, said that for New Delhi, refusing to participate in the exercise is “balancing its relationship with the United States.” “But these so-called wargames are also not the mission of BRICS.”
BRICS is not essentially a military alliance, but rather an intergovernmental partnership of developing countries focused on economic cooperation and trade aimed at breaking over-dependence on the West.
Pant told Al Jazeera that for China, Russia, Iran and, to some extent, South Africa, joint military exercises “help demonstrate (the narrative) where they stand vis-à-vis the United States at this time.”
“India wants to stay out of the BRICS wargames,” Pant said, adding that New Delhi would also not be happy with the gradual evolution of the BRICS fundamentals. “Pragmatically and normatively, this is not something India can really move forward with.”
Pant then argued that there are important differences between BRICS+ countries, such as the UAE and Iran, or Egypt and Iran, for BRICS+ to become a strong military alliance.
When was the last time South Africa hosted a joint exercise?
South Africa conducted two exercises, formerly known as Moshi, with Russia and China.
The first exercise, “Moshi”, which means “smoke” in Sesotho, was conducted in November 2019. The second exercise, Moshi II, was held in February 2023, coinciding with the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
At the time, South Africa was under intense heat from the West over hosting joint training exercises.
The third meeting was scheduled for the end of 2025, but it coincided with the G20 summit in South Africa in November. Washington did not send a representative. The ongoing “Will for Peace 2026”, now rebranded, is the third round of the exercise.
What is at stake for South Africa?
The exercises in South African waters are likely to further escalate tensions with the US government.
Relations between South Africa and the United States have deteriorated over a variety of issues since President Trump took office again, with Trump imposing 30% tariffs on South African goods.
Part of the fallout is also rooted in the South African government’s decision to bring a genocide case against Israel, a major ally of the United States, at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. It accuses the Israeli government of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. In a preliminary judgment, the World Court recognized the validity of Israel’s actions as genocide.
When South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the White House in May in an effort to mend relations, Trump falsely claimed that South Africa’s white farmers faced systematic killing.
Mr Ramaphosa rejected this claim. None of South Africa’s political parties claim that “white genocide” is occurring in the country, as the Trump administration claims.
Holding wargames at a time of global geopolitical upheaval comes with its own risks, given that the United States views some of the participants as a military threat.
Ramaphosa’s government has also faced criticism from one of its biggest coalition partners, the Liberal Democratic Alliance (DA). DA spokesman Chris Hatting said in a statement that the alliance has no defensive role and no common military plan to justify such exercises.
The party said BRICS had “used South Africa as a pawn in a power game played by rogue states on the international stage”.
