MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th April, 2023) A Chinese surveillance ship has docked in the eastern South African port of Durban, less than two months after South Africa drew the ire of the US and its allies for conducting joint naval exercises with China and Russia, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
The presence of the Yuan Wang 5 vessel, which is reportedly currently heading west, has previously raised concerns among China's geopolitical rivals. In particular, India protested in August 2022 when Sri Lanka allowed the ship to dock in its port, the report said.
South African authorities said, as cited by the news agency, that they did not track the ship's arrivals on a daily basis and referred queries to the country's defense ministry and the port operator.
In late February, warships and support vessels of Russia, China, and South Africa conducted joint naval exercises in the Indian Ocean. The Chinese Defense Ministry said that the drills would further advance defense and security cooperation among the BRICS countries. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, in turn, criticized the South African government for participating in the exercises, accusing it of "adopting the experience of the Russian military machine."
