China to lead joint naval drills with Brics nations in South African waters

It is the first defence cooperation under the Brics framework, with the Russian and Iranian navies reportedly taking part

The South African National Defence Force on Wednesday said the exercise – dubbed Will for Peace 2026 – would bring together “navies from Brics Plus countries for an intensive programme of joint maritime safety operations, interoperability drills and maritime protection serials” from January 9 to 16.

It said China would lead the exercise but did not specify which other countries would attend. Media reports have named Russia and Iran as participants, with Indonesia and Ethiopia also likely to take part.