By Eric Ombok.
The United States (US) escalated its criticism of South Africa after naval exercises this week in Cape Town involving China and some of the BRICS member nations.
The US House Committee on Foreign Affairs accused Pretoria of undermining US national security — a day after the nation’s embassy lambasted South Africa for allowing Iran to participate in military drills that took place off the coast of Cape Town. Russian and Chinese vessels also participated.
“South Africa continues to give the United States the middle finger,” the committee said in a statement posted on X on Friday. “They will find out quick they are on the losing side between the US and China.”
The criticism highlights the strained ties between South Africa and the US, which have deteriorated sharply since Donald Trump returned to the White House last January.
The Trump administration has denounced Pretoria’s ties with Russia, China and Iran, lambasted its domestic policies aimed at redressing the racial imbalances spawned by apartheid, and made the unfounded claims that South Africa is subjecting White farmers to genocide and confiscating their land.
Trump suspended aid to South Africa in March, while in November he said he planned to “stop all payments and subsidies” to the country.
The House committee’s statement stemmed from a Justice Department announcement on Jan. 15 that the US filed a forfeiture complaint against the privately owned Test Flying Academy of South Africa.
The department accused TFASA of illegally exporting US military flight simulator technology and recruiting former NATO pilots to help train China’s military — allegations the company “strenuously rejects,” according to a statement published on its website.
The pilot school, located in the southern town of Oudtshoorn, was added to the US Commerce Department’s export-control Entity List in 2023.
The forfeiture action involved the interdiction of two mission crew trainers, or MCTs, that were in transit from the TFASA to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, according to the Justice Department.
MCTs are mobile classrooms that the department said were intended to help the PLA train personnel on the use of airborne warning and control systems and anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
“The company rejects any suggestion that NATO expertise was transferred, or that any US military technology, defence technical data, or other restricted information was exported in breach of applicable laws, “TFASA said in the statement.
The company also published a report that set out the findings of an investigation it said showed the allegations were “unfounded and disproportionate.”
South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation said it noted the “clarifications” provided by TFASA.
“We are committed to constructive engagements with our US counterparts to address any concerns and ensure a clear understanding of the facts through our diplomatic channels,” Dirco spokesman Chrispin Phiri said in response to a request for comment.
@Bloomberg 2026.