The United States escalated its criticism of South Africa following naval exercises held this week with the participation of China and certain BRICS member states, including Iran, amid a severe crisis and threatened American intervention that was avoided at the last moment. The US government accused Pretoria of undermining US national security, one day after the American embassy strongly criticized South Africa for allowing Iran to participate in military drills conducted off the coast of Cape Town. Russian and Chinese warships also participated in the exercises.
Warning regarding US–China competition
The rebuke was accompanied by a particularly sharp warning that South Africa risks finding itself on the "losing side" of the rivalry between the United States and China. "South Africa continues to show the middle finger to the United States," the committee stated in a post published on the X platform on Friday. "They will find out very quickly that they are on the losing side between the US and China." This criticism highlights the strained relations between South Africa and the US, which have deteriorated significantly since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
Rupture of relations after Trump's return
The Trump administration has condemned Pretoria's ties with Russia, China, and Iran, has strongly criticized the country's internal policies aimed at redressing racial inequalities caused by apartheid, and has made unsubstantiated claims that South Africa is committing "genocide" against white farmers and seizing their land. In March, Trump suspended American aid to South Africa, while in November he stated that he planned to "stop all payments and subsidies" to the country. The House committee's announcement is linked to a January 15 Justice Department statement, according to which the US filed a forfeiture lawsuit against the private company Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA).
The department accused TFASA of illegally exporting US military flight simulator technology and recruiting former NATO pilots to assist in training the Chinese military. These charges, according to a statement by the company on its website, are "categorically rejected." The pilot school, located in the southern city of Oudtshoorn, had been added in 2023 to the US Department of Commerce's Entity List for export controls.
Seizures and military technology
The forfeiture proceedings concerned preventing the transfer of two Mission Crew Trainers (MCTs), which were en route from TFASA to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), according to the Justice Department, as reported by Bloomberg. MCTs are mobile training rooms which, the department stated, were intended to assist the PLA in training personnel for the use of airborne early warning and control systems, as well as anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
TFASA stated that it "rejects any insinuation that NATO expertise was transferred or that any US military technology, defense technical data, or other restricted information was exported in violation of applicable law." The company also published a report with the findings of an investigation which, it claims, proves that the allegations are "unfounded and disproportionate."
The South African government's response
South Africa’s Department of International Relations stated that it took note of the "clarifications" provided by TFASA. "We remain committed to constructive cooperation with our American counterparts so that any concerns are addressed and a clear understanding of the facts is ensured through our diplomatic channels," said Dirco spokesperson Chrispin Phiri, responding to a related request for comment.
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