All hands on deck for defence at the IBSA summit: rethinking South Africa's position

The document examines the role of defence cooperation within the IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) framework, specifically focusing on the IBSAMAR naval exercises. It notes that while South Africa is the weakest military power among the three, it can use these political platforms to promote its domestic arms industry, such as Denel, and engage in technical collaborations like the trilateral satellite programme to enhance maritime and border monitoring.

• Defence cooperation within IBSA is primarily manifested through the IBSAMAR joint naval exercises, which focus on search and rescue, shipping safety, and casualty evacuation to improve operational compatibility. The first exercise occurred in May 2008, and a second was scheduled for September 2010 in South African waters.
• South Africa possesses significantly fewer military assets and a lower global fighting force ranking than India and Brazil. For example, the South African Navy has 22 vessels, compared to Brazil's 89 and India's 143 warships; globally, South Africa ranks 32nd in fighting force effectiveness, while India and Brazil rank 4th and 8th respectively.
• The IBSA defensive framework is a political platform for cooperation rather than a mutual defence treaty or a mechanism for enhancing the collective defensive position of its members.
• South Africa can use IBSA to promote its state-owned arms manufacturer, Denel. While a 2005 deal for 400 anti-material rifles with India collapsed due to bribery allegations, Denel is currently in a joint venture with Brazil for the A-Darter missile and may collaborate on the Embraer KC 390 aircraft and the Umkhonto ER missile.
• The three IBSA partners agreed to a trilateral satellite programme to produce one general observation satellite and two weather observation satellites. The general observation satellite could support defence by monitoring coastal waters, shipping lanes, and land borders to prevent illicit activities and incursions.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2010). All hands on deck for defence at the IBSA summit: rethinking South Africa's position. https://saiia.org.za/research/all-hands-on-deck-for-defence-at-the-ibsa-summit-rethinking-south-africas-position/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. All hands on deck for defence at the IBSA summit: rethinking South Africa's position. 2010. https://saiia.org.za/research/all-hands-on-deck-for-defence-at-the-ibsa-summit-rethinking-south-africas-position/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=All hands on deck for defence at the IBSA summit: rethinking South Africa's position |date=20 April 2010 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/all-hands-on-deck-for-defence-at-the-ibsa-summit-rethinking-south-africas-position/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2010all, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{All hands on deck for defence at the IBSA summit: rethinking South Africa's position}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2010}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/all-hands-on-deck-for-defence-at-the-ibsa-summit-rethinking-south-africas-position/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }