The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has been offered opportunities to carry out naval exercises with the United States, but declined, and is instead proceeding with Exercise Mosi II with Russia and China later this month.
This emerged during a media briefing last week with Rear Admiral Chase Patrick, Director, Maritime Headquarters, US Naval Forces Europe-Africa, who spoke to the media about Exercise Obangame Express 2023, which has just concluded in Nigeria.
“We do invite South Africa to our exercises, and they’ve, as I recall, have declined to participate in those.
We do have upcoming exercises, for example Cutlass Express, which is focused on some of our partner countries on the eastern side of Africa which I think would have been a really good place to involve South Africa, but they’re just – they’re not playing in that exercise this year,” Patrick said.
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