South Africa is right in the middle of a proxy fight between the US and Russia. If SA hoped its non-aligned stand would be recognised and respected worldwide, the recent events surrounding SA’s proximity to Russia have pretty much nullified that stand.
US ambassador to SA, Reuben Brigety, set the cat among the pigeons last week when he accused SA of selling arms to Russia. Considering the clandestine visit of Russian registered ship Lady R, it is not surprising that such an accusation could be made.
What is unbelievable is how our country could bumble into a diplomatic trap such as this one despite the US warning us about the monitored arms carrying ship coming our way. All of this happened during a headline-grabbing war waged by Russia against Ukraine. Why we handled this ship in such a secretive middle of the night loading and offloading at a naval base, under guard, if we did not want to raise suspicions, is beyond me.
It is difficult to understand the thinking of our government, if there is any thinking that is. It is not clear whether it was in fact the intention of our government to join a proxy war. If so, what is the possible upside of our country allowing itself to be used as a proxy in what could be a protracted war? If not, how could it not be clear that dancing so close to the fire would likely get us burnt? Our actions were even more unjustified considering the likely damage to our valuable international trade relations. It seems our government was caught by surprise that such an accusation could be made despite actively setting up all the conditions for them to be made.
Meanwhile, the call between Putin and Ramaphosa was designed by Putin to announce and advertise SA’s “strengthened ties” with Russia. None of this affirms our non-aligned stance. It is no wonder the US pushed us into a corner to take a side. It is a sign that our non-aligned stance means nothing to both the US and Russia. Perhaps we do not know what being non-aligned means. If we do, we certainly do not know what actions are congruent with being non-aligned.
It is not surprising that the ANC government does not know what being non-aligned is. The ANC’s inability to put matters of state above its own interests is not only established, it seems impossible for the ANC to act with national interests at heart. This is why it was possible for our ANC-led government to act in such a reckless manner and jeopardise South Africa's trade relations.
Whether those trade relations are with the East or the West is neither here nor there. It is good trade relations that make up thriving economies, including our own. The only reasons these valuable trade relations with the West were jeopardised are ANC perceptions and interests rather than national interests.
US ambassador Reuben Brigety’s effort to meet the ANC instead of simply meeting with government officials speaks volumes. Why would an ambassador seek to speak to a political party instead of speaking only to the government of his host country? The ambassador must have observed that the ANC acts on its own behalf, for its own interests.
He must have thought that perhaps speaking to the party might realign the interests of the party with those of the US. This is a grave indictment on the party. Perhaps our government can learn a thing or two from the US ambassador. Instead of threatening to send him back to the US, they could note what the man is willing to do to secure the interests of his country.
The question now is this; now that we are in the middle of a proxy war, how can we manage this in the best interests of the country? I am not sure we can walk back to our non-aligned stand which we have so gloriously messed up. Perhaps now we simply must choose a side. We did not have to, mind you. If we had played our cards right, we might have got out of this in a much better economic position. Both sides would have respected our principled stand and likely cemented their appetite for greater economic ties with us.
However, now that we have joined the war, we will wait for the next bout of attacks and get kicked around by the warring powers like a soccer ball.
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