Chairperson, no, the South African Navy has not sent any warships into the sea in or around the vicinity of Cte d'Ivoire. What we have done, however, is to send into the international waters of the Gulf of Guinea the SAS Drakensberg. The SAS Drakensberg is a combat support vessel which allows for much cargo and accommodation space. I must say from the outset that she cannot be used for any other matter than what she is equipped for and what she is capable of. She is sent out always in accordance with international convention in terms of the Constitution of the Republic. Here is what the South African government confirmed on 16 February 2011: The South African Navy support vessel, SAS Drakensberg, had planned to participate as the communication and guard vessel for the 2011 Cape to Rio Yacht Race during the period January to February. The vessel was, at that particular time, also required to conduct practical sea training. The SAS Drakensberg was diverted from participating in the Cape to Rio Yacht Race to embark on a mission in the Gulf of Guinea. The South African government further confirmed that it instructed the SANDF to pre-position the South African Navy vessel SAS Drakensberg in the Gulf of Guinea for possible assistance to South African diplomats, designated personnel and other South Africans in Cte d'Ivoire, should the situation require that this should happen.
This is in line with international procedure. Should there be a volatile situation in any country, it is the country's responsibility to ensure that its citizens are evacuated. This is what we did and we used the presence of the SAS Drakensberg in the Gulf of Guinea to do this. The SAS Drakensberg is presently off the Gulf of Guinea and on the coast of Ghana for the purpose of replenishing rations and exchange of training crews.
The vessel had been in international waters since it left South Africa and only entered the waters of Ghana to replenish with the full knowledge of the Ghanaian authorities. She will proceed back into international waters once this is completed. To date, the SAS Drakensberg has not, at any stage, entered the Ivorian territorial waters, I thank you.
Chairperson, hon Minister, could you confirm that as of this date no evacuations from Cte d'Ivoire have taken place? It is great that you have taken action in case there is a need, which is good. I thank you.
No, as of here and now, we have not taken any action because we have not reached the conclusion that any action is required to evacuate our personnel, but should that be necessary, we are in the position to do that immediately. I thank you.
Chairperson, I thank the Minister for the response that she has given to Mr Lees, but as a follow-up to that, I would like to know the policy stance of the SA National Defence Force with respect to relations with other nations. I thank you.
Should he repeat the question, Minister? [Interjections.] Please repeat the question, hon member; apparently it was not heard very well.
Yes, the question was quite short; I should have elaborated.
Do not elaborate, just ask the question.
I am talking of being neighbourly and able to establish proper neighbourly relations with other nations and countries, in terms of the stance that we have adopted. We understand what used to take place in the past - cross-border raids and so on. The stance that has been adopted by the SA National Defence Force currently is very different from the one previously implemented by the apartheid government. I thank you.
Chairperson, the SA National Defence Force in its totality has a very defensive posture; we do not have an aggressive posture. This also goes for the SA Navy. We have very good relations with Africa. We have memoranda of understanding with most African countries and we are continuously engaged in training programmes with countries that we have relationships with. This is one of the matters that we have been involved in with the SAS Drakensberg around the Gulf of Guinea. Therefore, I wish to confirm that we had no intention to have an aggressive posture in this particular instance or at any other time. I thank you.
Requests received by government to send warships into seas near to and/or in the vicinity of (a) Somalia, (b) Kenya and/or (c) Tanzania and details relating thereto 2. Mr R A Lees (DA) asked the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans:
Whether the government has received any requests to send warships into the seas near to and/or in the vicinity of (a) Somalia, (b) Kenya and/or (c) Tanzania; if not, why was the request turned down; if so, (i) where did the requests come from, (ii) what was the purpose of sending the warship(s) and (iii) what are the details of the warship(s) that were sent?