The BRICS joint maritime exercise, featuring China, Russia and South Africa, launched its opening ceremony on Saturday in the waters and airspace off Simon’s Town, South Africa.
The eight-day exercise, "Will for Peace 2026," running from Friday to Jan 16, will see participants conduct counter-terrorism, rescues, and anti-sea-strike operations, as well as other activities such as professional exchanges and onboard tours. The exercise aims to jointly maintain the security of international shipping lanes and enhance maritime cooperation capabilities.
"The theme of the exercise is joint actions to ensure the safety of shipping lanes and maritime economic activities. The exercise will normally focus on the anti-piracy activities and some other activities that are scheduled to take place during the sea phase," said Captain Nndwakhulu Thomas Tamaha, South Africa's joint taskforce commander.
Countries including Indonesia and Ethiopia will attend as observers.
BRICS countries kick off joint maritime exercise in South Africa
The United States Central Command released a statement on Tuesday saying that a U.S. Army Apache helicopter gunship crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, and that its two crew members had been rescued.
According to the statement, two crew members from a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache were rescued by American forces after their helicopter went down at 7:33 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday near the coast of Oman while patrolling regional waters.
The soldiers were rescued within around two hours and are in stable condition.
An investigation into the cause of the crash is underway, although U.S. President Donald Trump said in a social media post that the helicopter had been shot down by Iran.
"I have just been informed ... that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz," Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday.
The two pilots onboard the helicopter were rescued and are "safe and uninjured," Trump said.
"Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack," he added.
U.S. military confirms helicopter crash near Strait of Hormuz, Trump vows to respond
