The United States (US) has intensified its criticism of South Africa after naval exercises held last week involving China and some of the BRICS member countries.
The US House Foreign Affairs Committee accused Pretoria of compromising US national security—one day after the US embassy criticized South Africa for allowing Iran to participate in military exercises off the coast of Cape Town. Russian and Chinese ships also participated.
“South Africa continues to give the US the middle finger,” the committee said in a statement released on Friday (16). “They will quickly discover that they are on the losing side between the US and China,” it added.
The Trump administration has denounced Pretoria’s ties with Russia, China, and Iran, criticized its domestic policies aimed at correcting the racial imbalances created by apartheid, and made unfounded allegations that South Africa is subjecting white farmers to genocide and confiscating their land.
Trump suspended aid to South Africa in March 2025, while in November he said he planned to “stop all payments and subsidies” to the country.
The House committee’s statement followed an announcement by the Department of Justice on January 15 that the US had filed a forfeiture complaint against the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA), a private entity.
Source: Business Insider Africa
