China, Russia and South Africa team up for first joint naval drill
- Chinese frigate deployed as part of PLA Navy’s mission to become a blue-water force, observer says
The Chinese navy has joined its Russian and South African counterparts in a joint exercise near Cape Town, expanding its reach to the southern tip of Africa for the first time.
It is the first time the three countries have held such an exercise, and comes just two years after a PLAN fleet crossed the equator into the Indian Ocean for the first time.
The drill, code-named Mosi, is meant to train “a multinational task force to react to and counter security threats at sea”, according to the South African military.
The Chinese contingent is headed by Liu Zongcheng, assistant to the Chinese naval chief of staff, who said the goal of the exercise was to “fully demonstrate our determination to work with partners to deal with maritime threats and challenges, safeguard world peace and maritime safety and build a marine community with a shared destiny”.
The exercise will focus on “the maritime economy, interoperability and mending relations between participating navies”.