IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 145 
Opposing the Republic of South Africa’s hosting of military exercises with 
the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation, and calling 
on the Biden administration to conduct a thorough review of the United 
States-South Africa relationship. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 21, 2023 
Mr. JAMES (for himself, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. KEAN of New Jersey, 
Mr. MILLS, Mr. BAIRD, and Mrs. KIM of California) submitted the fol-
lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Af-
fairs 
RESOLUTION 
Opposing the Republic of South Africa’s hosting of military 
exercises with the People’s Republic of China and the 
Russian Federation, and calling on the Biden administra-
tion to conduct a thorough review of the United States- 
South Africa relationship. 
Whereas the United States and the Republic of South Africa 
have enjoyed strong bilateral relations since 1994; 
Whereas the holding of elections with universal suffrage in 
1994 marked the effective ending of apartheid in South 
Africa, the codified, State-enforced system of racial seg-
regation and socioeconomic discrimination; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:52 Feb 21, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR145.IH
HR145
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
•HRES 145 IH 
Whereas South Africa is the United States largest trade part-
ner in Africa, with $21,000,000,000 of 2-way goods trade 
in 2021, and in 2012, the countries signed a Trade and 
Investment Framework Agreement facilitating 2-way 
trade; 
Whereas the United States is the largest source of foreign di-
rect investment in South Africa, valued at over 
$7,500,000,000 in 2021, and approximately 600 Amer-
ican businesses operate in South Africa; 
Whereas South Africa’s media landscape has proven resilient 
to the influence of media entities controlled by the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China (PRC); 
Whereas South Africa has benefitted from the U.S. Africa 
Contingency Operations Training and Assistance pro-
gram since 2006; 
Whereas the United States and South African militaries have 
historically undertaken joint military exercises and en-
joyed good relations, including South Africa hosting 
American troops for Exercise ‘‘Shared Accord’’ in 2022, 
the fourth time they have hosted this exercise since 2011, 
through historic Department of Defense participation in 
South Africa’s biennial African Aerospace Defense Exhi-
bition, and through the periodic convening of the bilateral 
U.S.-South Africa Defense Committee; 
Whereas South Africa declined to participate in the planned 
‘‘Cutlass Express’’ military exercises with the United 
States in 2023; 
Whereas South Africa often voted in alignment with the PRC 
within the United Nations General Assembly in 2022, es-
pecially in relation to votes condemning Russia’s unjusti-
fied and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:52 Feb 21, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR145.IH
HR145
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
•HRES 145 IH 
Whereas South Africa reneged on its initial call for the Rus-
sian Federation to immediately withdraw its forces from 
Ukraine and has actively sought improved relations with 
Moscow in the last year; 
Whereas South Africa’s ruling party, the African National 
Congress (ANC) and the Chinese Communist Party 
(CCP) engage in consistent interparty cooperation in 
spite of South Africa’s Constitution being opposed to the 
CCP’s routine suppression of free expression and indi-
vidual rights; 
Whereas the ‘‘United Front’’ work of the CCP has estab-
lished at least 3 ‘‘overseas police stations’’ in South Afri-
ca, and these police stations, both in South Africa and 
in many other countries, are reportedly being used to 
track and harass PRC dissidents; 
Whereas South Africa hosts 6 Confucius Institutes, the most 
of any country in Africa, and cooperates with the PRC 
under the CCP’s Belt and Road Initiative; 
Whereas, in 2020, South Africa and the PRC established a 
joint bilateral ‘‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’’, 
and maintain numerous prior and subsequent agree-
ments, memorandums of understanding, and similar ac-
cords; 
Whereas South Africa is the PRC’s largest trading partner 
in Africa, with total trade valued at $54,000,000,000 in 
2021, and has accepted $5,000,000,000 in PRC-provided 
power and transportation sector loans since 2015; 
Whereas South Africa is scheduled to hold the 15th leaders’ 
meeting of the informal Brazil, Russia, India, China 
grouping (BRICS) in August 2023; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:52 Feb 21, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR145.IH
HR145
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
•HRES 145 IH 
Whereas the increased Chinese presence in South Africa’s 
technology sector has raised concerns that the ANC may 
be trying to copy the PRC’s model of digitally aided au-
thoritarian governance underpinned by cyber controls, so-
cial monitoring, and surveillance; 
Whereas Vumacam, a South African company building a na-
tionwide CCTV network, has partnered with Chinese 
company Hikvision for the cameras’ hardware, and 
Telkom, South Africa’s partially State-owned telecoms 
operator, launched its 5G network throughout the coun-
try in October 2022 using technology from Huawei Tech-
nologies; 
Whereas the ANC has proved incapable of providing elec-
tricity to the South African people, through its chronic 
mismanagement of the State-owned power company 
Eskom, and on February 9, 2023, President of South Af-
rica Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of dis-
aster over the worsening, multiyear power crisis; 
Whereas South Africa will host joint maritime exercises, enti-
tled ‘‘Operation Mosi II’’, jointly with the PRC and Rus-
sia, between February 17 and 24, 2023, and the latter 
date corresponds to the 1-year anniversary of Russia’s 
unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine; 
Whereas South Africa has used its stated stance of nonalign-
ment in international affairs to justify increasingly close 
relations with the PRC and Russia; 
Whereas United States policy towards South Africa appears 
to have failed in building a strong, reliable bilateral part-
ner; and 
Whereas it is in the national security interest of the United 
States to deter acceptance, cooperation, and strategic in-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:52 Feb 21, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR145.IH
HR145
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
•HRES 145 IH 
formation sharing with the PRC and Russia: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) opposes South Africa’s decision to host mili-
tary exercises with the People’s Republic of China 
and the Russian Federation from February 17 to 
February 24, 2023; 
(2) calls on the Government of South Africa 
to— 
(A) cancel all future military exercises with 
the People’s Republic of China and Russia and 
rejoin United States-led exercises, such as the 
‘‘Cutlass Express’’; 
(B) respect the United Nations charter 
and publicly oppose Russia’s unjustified and 
unprovoked invasion of Ukraine; 
(C) strengthen its political resilience to re-
ject the Chinese Communist Party’s authori-
tarian vision for South Africa; and 
(D) maintain its national sovereignty by 
reducing its reliance on Chinese companies in 
key sectors such as information and commu-
nication technology; 
(3) calls on the Biden administration to conduct 
a thorough review of the current and future status 
of the United States-South Africa bilateral relation-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:52 Feb 21, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR145.IH
HR145
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB