South Africans are entitled to clear answers about the role of foreign warships in Exercise Will for Peace 2026. Instead, what we have seen is confusion, contradiction and secrecy.
Yesterday the SANDF posted that four naval vessels would take part in the sea phase of the exercise, but then listed five ships. These were the UAE corvette Bani Yas, the Russian corvette Stoikiy, the South African frigate SAS Amatola, the Iranian corvette Naghdi and the Chinese destroyer Tangshan.
That post has since been removed and deleted without explanation.
This matters because the SANDF communication explicitly presented the Naghdi as an active participant. Yet the public was simultaneously told that Iran was not participating. This contradiction has never been explained.
It was then observed that Naghdi appeared to leave Simon’s Town with the other ships before remaining in False Bay. As of this morning, all three Iranian vessels remain in South African waters. The SANDF has not clarified whether they are participating, observing, or withdrawn, and on whose authority any change in status took place.
This lack of clarity has been made worse by the cancellation of media briefings. A briefing scheduled for Saturday was postponed to Sunday and then cancelled. Only a small group of media houses were invited, and no open briefing has been held. This is in sharp contrast to previous multinational naval exercises, which were conducted openly with regular public communication.
This level of secrecy is unacceptable. These are not routine naval visits. They involve sanctioned states and carry real diplomatic and economic risks for South Africa.
The Minister of Defence must urgently brief the public and Parliament. South Africans deserve to know who approved these invitations, what legal and sanctions advice was considered, why official communications were contradictory and removed, and why transparency has been abandoned.
Transparency and accountability are not optional. They are constitutional obligations.