Challenge of global power relations shift
THE growing ties between members of the emerging power group BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are being laid bare in Cape Town for the international community to take note.
For the first time, three BRICS members – Russia, China and South Africa – are taking part in a joint naval exercise. The Russian warship “Marshal Ustinov”, a missile cruiser famous for its dominance at sea, has travelled five months from its home base of Severomorsk in the Russian Federation before reaching Cape Town.
In a clear marker to cement ties with other strategic nations Marshal Ustinov made several stops en route, a trip that raked-in 47200 km in total.
The missile cruiser made stops in Algeria, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Cape Verde and Equatorial Guinea during which it took part in several sea exercises with its host countries.
China, the world’s second-largest economy after the US, and forecast by global scholars to become the world’s largest economy in the next decade, is represented in the joint drill by Type 054A frigate Weifang. It is also highly acclaimed, a flagship missile cruiser for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (Plan) in communist China.
The host country’s South Africa’s Navy is being represented by the valour class frigate Amatola. A source in the SA Navy says the main reason Brazil’s and India’s navies are not fully represented is because of the distance challenges to their warships. However, officials from the two countries’ navies are taking part in the Cape Town drills.
One of the strategic objectives for the growth of BRICS is establishing bilateral and multilateral relationships with like-minded nations. Hence, at every BRICS summit, dozens of nonmembers are invited to participate.
International power relations have pushed BRICS, which represent growing economies, to forge strategic relationships in the wake of the domineering liberal world order led by Western democracies.
BRICS is a strategic group to belong to. Russia and China are two of the only five members of the UN Security Council’s permanent members who have veto powers. Such power is extremely beneficial to the rest of the BRICS bloc and other allies who often feel powerlessly exposed to the hostile decisions of the West at forums.
BRICS has become an ideal answer to emerging democracies. The economic co-operation with the bloc is led by the establishment of the BRICS Bank, based in China. The bank funds infrastructural development projects and trade within BRICS members is in local currencies, not the US dollar.
From diplomatic relations to military co-operation, BRICS countries have carved for themselves a niche which has been necessitated by a skewed world order where before global bodies all countries are equal, but some are more equal than others.
As for South Africa, being the only African country in BRICS brings added pressure of opening doors for other AU member states to become part of the group. The emerging democracies need to harness the international power wielded by both Russia and China.
The two are no pushovers, as seen by their ability to withstand sanctions imposed by the US or Nato. Rapidly-changing global power relations call on emerging democracies like South Africa to position themselves wisely.