Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other leaders and representatives pose for a group photo of the Outreach BRICS Plus format meeting participants during the BRICS Leader's Summit, October 24 2024, in Kazan, Tatarstan Republic, Russia. (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images)
It was a busy diplomatic week for South Africa.
President Cyril Ramaphosa was at the Brics Summit in Kazan, Russia. President Vladimir Putin ratcheted up talk about greatly expanding the body, reigniting debates about its purpose and potential as a new global hegemonic power.
Back home, meanwhile, the department of international relations was at the crease batting away questions about its demand on Taiwan to relocate its offices out of Pretoria and into Johannesburg.
In these choppy waters, does South Africa risk drifting away from its proud, proclaimed non-alignment stance? Despite loud complaints to the contrary, the answer is no.
What we’re witnessing is the stolid diplomatic dance we have become so accustomed to.
Questions must rightly be asked of the sudden command of Taiwan to move house — and more importantly, China’s apparent ability to command us on a whim.
But the news is not extraordinary in the context of a world where only a handful of small countries recognise Taiwan’s status as one itself.
The fact that the office in question is called the Taipei Liaison Office in South Africa tells us all we need to know about where ties have stood since 1997 — when the formerly rosy, apartheid-era relations were cut.
The same can be said of Ramaphosa’s decorous statement of friendship in Russia. It’s understandable why it might be unpalatable for some, but the reality is that he has not committed to a new position one way or the other.
Putin would love to peddle the idea that a new strategic alliance is being birthed in the castle halls of Kazan. As Emsie Ferreira reports on Page 3, that is unlikely, for a number of reasons.
It is a narrative that is ironically largely powered by fear-mongering.
John Steenhuisen’s outrage would have us believe differently. And yet we are still to see any practical challenges from him or the Democratic Alliance.
Ahead of elections, none of the party’s seven priorities in its manifesto touched on foreign relations. Diplomacy, like politics, is so often about posturing.
There is a warning, however. Non-aligned does not mean non-principled.
In our rapidly shifting world, our country’s leaders must consistently re-evaluate South Africa’s position and adjust accordingly. The diplomatic dance is now being done over eggshells, where every handshake and photograph is scrutinised down to the last pixel.
When the music stops, South Africa must not forget where it stands.