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The US has escalated its criticism of South Africa after naval exercises this week involving China and some of the Brics member nations.<\/p>\n
The US House Committee on Foreign Affairs accused Pretoria of undermining US national security \u2013 a day after the nation\u2019s embassy lambasted South Africa for allowing Iran to participate in military drills that took place off the coast of Cape Town. Russian and Chinese vessels also participated.<\/p>\n
Read:
US says South Africa is cozying up to Iran with naval drills
Motshekga appoints inquiry into whether order for Iran\u2019s naval drill exit was flouted<\/p>\n
\u201cSouth Africa continues to give the United States the middle finger,\u201d the committee said in a\u00a0statement\u00a0posted on X on Friday. \u201cThey will find out quick they are on the losing side between the US and China.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe criticism highlights the strained ties between South Africa and the US, which have deteriorated sharply since Donald Trump returned to the White House last January.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The Trump administration has denounced Pretoria\u2019s ties with Russia, China and Iran, lambasted its domestic policies aimed at redressing the racial imbalances spawned by apartheid, and made the unfounded claims that South Africa is subjecting white farmers to genocide and confiscating their land.<\/p>\n
Trump suspended aid to South Africa in March, while in November he said he planned to \u201cstop all payments and subsidies\u201d to the country.<\/p>\n
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The house committee\u2019s statement stemmed from a Justice Department announcement on 15 January that the US had filed a forfeiture complaint against the privately owned Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA).<\/p>\n
The department accused TFASA of illegally exporting US military flight simulator technology and recruiting former Nato pilots to help train China\u2019s military \u2013 allegations the company \u201cstrenuously rejects\u201d, according to a statement published on its website.<\/p>\n
Read:
Chinese, Iranian and Russians in naval drills off SA coast
South Africa hosts Brics naval exercise, risks renewed US ire
Trump opens new front against China with brazen arrest of Maduro<\/p>\nThe pilot school, located in the southern town of Oudtshoorn, was added to the US Commerce Department\u2019s export-control\u00a0Entity List\u00a0in 2023.<\/p>\n
The forfeiture action involved the interdiction of two mission crew trainers (MCTs) that were in transit from TFASA to the Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA), according to the Justice Department.<\/p>\n
MCTs are mobile classrooms that the department said were intended to help the PLA train personnel in the use of airborne warning and control systems and anti-submarine warfare aircraft.<\/p>\n
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\n\u201cThe company rejects any suggestion that NATO expertise was transferred, or that any US military technology, defence technical data, or other restricted information was exported in breach of applicable laws,\u201d TFASA said in the statement.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The company also published a report that set out the findings of an investigation it said showed the allegations were \u201cunfounded and disproportionate\u201d.<\/p>\n
Listen\/read:\u00a0SA\u2019s Iran pivot amid rising US pressure<\/p>\n
South Africa\u2019s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) said it noted the \u201cclarifications\u201d provided by TFASA.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are committed to constructive engagements with our US counterparts to address any concerns and ensure a clear understanding of the facts through our diplomatic channels,\u201d Dirco spokesman Chrispin Phiri said in response to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
\u00a9\u00a02026\u00a0Bloomberg<\/p>\n
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