Chinese, Russian, Iranian Warships Gather Near South Africa for Multilateral Drill
Warships from China, Russia and Iran amassed in the waters off South Africa to kick off a weeklong drill alongside the South African National Defense Force.
Dubbed “Will For Peace 2026,” the naval exercise brings together countries from BRICS Plus, an intergovernmental group of developing countries. This year’s exercise will be led by China and hosted by Simon’s Town Naval Base, South Africa, according to the South African Defense Department. The naval drills began Friday and will run until Jan. 16.
The week is meant to be an intensive program of joint maritime safety operations, interoperability drills and maritime protection serials, reads a news release from the South African Defense Department. Participating nations agreed the exercise theme would be “Joint Actions to Ensure the Safety of Shipping and Maritime Economic Activities.”
“This theme reflects the collective commitment of all participating navies to safeguard maritime trade routes, enhance shared operational procedures and deepen cooperation in support of peaceful maritime security initiatives,” reads the release.
The exercise will include drills on counter-terrorism rescue and maritime strike operations, as well as professional technical exchanges and ship visits, China’s Ministry of National Defense said Friday.
The South African National Defense Force on Thursday released photos of People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) destroyer CNS Tangshan (122), fleet oiler CNS Taihu (889) and Iranian Navy expeditionary sea base IRIS Makran (441) arriving in Simon’s Town. South African Navy frigate SAS Amatola (F145) was also docked at the base.
Additionally, South African newspaper Daily Maverick posted photos of Iranian Navy corvette IRIS Naghdi (82) and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy expeditionary sea base IRIS Shahid Mahdavi (L110-3) in the waters off Simon’s Town. Russian corvette RFS Stoikiy (545) and fleet oiler Yelnya arrived Friday in False Bay, Cape Town, to participate in the drills, according to a social media post by South African defense journalist Dean Wingrin. United Arab Emirates Navy corvette Bani Yas (P110) is also reportedly taking part in the drills.
Tangsan and Taihu with frigate Daqing (576) form the PLAN’s 48th Chinese Naval Escort Task Force, which left Oct. 11 from Qingdao to conduct China’s ongoing anti-piracy escort mission in the Gulf of Aden. Along with anti-piracy escort missions, ships of the naval task forces are also detached to conduct drills and engagements with countries in Africa and the Middle East while carrying out multinational exercises with China’s partners Russia and Iran. Daqing currently remains on station around the Gulf of Aden.
In December, Iran’s Navy Chief Rear Adm. Shahram Irani said he dispatched the 103rd and 104th flotillas toward South Africa with the 103rd slated to take part in an exercise there while the 104th would escort commercial shipping. The Iranian military officer did not disclose the composition of the flotillas. Stoikiy and Yelnya are part of the Russian Navy’s Baltic Fleet and departed Russia in October 2025 to sail to Africa. During their transit through European waters, the two Russian ships were shadowed by NATO ships, including Royal Navy offshore patrol vessel HMS Severn (P282).
Will For Peace 2026 was originally slated to be “Mosi III,” the third of the biennial Mosi series of naval exercises hosted by South Africa alongside China and Russia. However, Mosi III was called off because its original scheduled date of November 2025 clashed with the G20 summit hosted by South Africa. South Africa ultimately rescheduled and renamed the exercise, opting to have it be a BRICS Plus exercise.
BRICS originally consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – with the acronym representing each of the member countries – before the group was expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Founding members Brazil and India are not taking part in the ongoing drills.
South Africa’s Democratic Alliance party, which is part of the ruling government coalition, criticized the exercise and called for a full parliamentary briefing on the drill. The Democratic Alliance took issue with China leading the exercise, noting the country conducts large-scale military exercises and rehearses a possible invasion of Taiwan. The Democratic Alliance also spoke against the participation of Russia and Iran, both heavily sanctioned countries that are involved in active conflicts.
“South Africa’s entrance to BRICS was purely for economic purposes and not to challenge or undermine the international rules-based order through blatant and weaponized antagonism brought about by rogue-aligned military exercises,” reads the statement from South Africa’s Democratic Alliance party.
