POLICY FRAMEWORK
1. After decades of isolation, South Africa has been welcomed back into the international community and has joined or returned to a host of regional and international organisations. The most important of these are the United Nations, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
2. South Africa has also entered into a number of international, regional and bilateral or trilateral defence agreements. These generally entail reciprocal obligations and an undertaking to engage in some form of co-operation.
3. The most significant strategic development over the past few years is South Africa s new status in Southern Africa, previously an arena of intense conflict. With the election of a democratic government in April 194, relations with neighbouring states changed from suspicion and animosity to friendship and co-operation.
4. For political, strategic and geographic reasons, the government regards security and defence co-operation in Southern Africa as a priority.
5. Since the end of the Cold War the region has undergone substantial change. Considerable progress has been made towards the resolution of internal conflicts, the establishment of democracy, and disarmament. The prospects for regional peace and stability are greater today than at any other time in recent decades.
6. Nevertheless, much of the sub-continent is stricken by underdevelopment and the attendant problems of poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. There are large numbers of refugees and displaced people; an acute debt crisis; and disease and environmental degradation. Certain states remain politically volatile. The worst case scenario, as experienced intensely in Angola and Mozambique, is civil war.
7. These phenomena are not confined to national borders. They impact negatively on neighbouring states in the form of a range of non-military threats: environmental destruction; the spread of disease; the burden of refugees; and cross-border trafficking in drugs, stolen goods and small arms.
8. Following trends in other parts of the world, South Africa is committed to the development of a common security approach in Southern Africa. In essence, this will entail the SADC states shaping their political, security and defence policies in co-operation with each other.
9. Common security arrangements have many advantages. They can facilitate sharing of information and resources; early warning of potential crises; joint problem-solving; implementing confidence- and security-building measures (CSBMs); negotiating security agreements; and resolving inter-state conflict through peaceful means.
10. Certain of these endeavours are the responsibility of the Department of Foreign Affairs. Chief amongst them is the prevention, management and settlement of conflict through negotiation and mediation.
11. Other types of activity, some of which are already under way, will be undertaken by the Department of Defence (DOD).
11.1 Regional defence co-operation can be promoted in the fields of logistics; training and education; aviation; protection of marine resources; intelligence; combined exercises; secondment of personnel; goodwill visits; and the development of combined doctrines and operational procedures.
11.2 The government may be called on by neighbouring countries to play a number of supportive roles. For example, the SANDF can provide assistance with respect to disaster relief; controlling cross-border trafficking in small arms; clearing minefields; training; field engineering; medical support; and maintaining and upgrading weaponry and equipment.
11.3 The DOD will pursue the implementation of CSBMs. These are measures which provide greater transparency in military matters in order to alleviate mistrust, prevent misunderstandings from developing into crises, and thereby promote collective confidence and stability. Appropriate CSBMs might include the following:
11.3.1 Annual consultation and exchange of information on defence budgets, force structure, modernisation plans and troop deployment.
11.3.2 Consideration of national threat perceptions which inform force structure and modernisation plans.
11.3.3 The establishment of a regional arms register which records imports, exports, production and holdings of conventional arms and light weaponry.
11.3.4 Notification and on-site observation of military exercises and other specified activities.
11.3.5 Verification procedures in respect of the above.
11.3.6 A communications network and a crisis hotline .
11.3.7 Procedures for dealing with unusual or unscheduled military incidents.
PEACE SUPPORT OPERATIONS
12. Situations may arise in Southern Africa where inter- or intra-state conflict poses a threat to peace and stability in the region as a whole. If political efforts to resolve the conflict are unsuccessful, it may become necessary to deploy the SANDF in multi-national peace support operations.
13. South Africa shares the view of many of its neighbours that the creation of a standing peacekeeping force in the region is not required or feasible. The SADC countries are more likely to engage in peace support operations on an ad-hoc basis if the need arises.
14. Nevertheless, the SADC states are committed to regional co-operation in preparing for peace support operations. It may therefore be worthwhile to establish a small peace support operations centre, under the auspices of regional defence structures, to develop and co-ordinate planning, training, logistics, communication and field liaison teams for multi-national forces.
POSTURE
15. South Africa has a common destiny with Southern Africa. Domestic peace and stability will not be achieved in a context of regional instability and poverty. It is therefore in South Africa s long-term security interests to pursue mutually beneficial relations with the other SADC states and to promote reconstruction and development throughout the region.
16. Given South Africa s relative military strength on the sub-continent, the adoption of a defensive and non-threatening posture would contribute to building confidence and positive relationships. Reductions in force levels and weapons holdings might stimulate a broader process of regional disarmament. However, force reductions should be kept within reasonable proportions if South Africa is to play an active support role in the region.
17. South Africa will support the conclusion of multi-lateral treaties on disarmament, arms control and foreign military involvement in the region. The most important agreement would be a non-aggression pact which endorses the prohibition in international law regarding the threat or use of force.
REGIONAL STRUCTURES
18. South Africa is a signatory to the SADC Treaty and participates fully in all the structures of the organisation. These include the following:
18.1 The Summit, comprising Heads of State and Government.
18.2 The Organ on Politics, Defence and Security, comprising the ministers responsible for foreign affairs and defence, which reports to the Summit.
18.3 The Inter-State Defence and Security Committee (ISDSC), comprising the ministers responsible for defence, policing and intelligence, which reports to the Organ. The ISDSC has defence, public security and state security sub-committees.
19. The main functions of the defence sub-committee of the ISDSC are as follows:
19.1 to review and share experiences on the military-security situation in member states;
19.2 to explore areas for multi-lateral defence co-operation and the practical implementation thereof; and
19.3 to exchange views and propose mechanisms for the prevention, management and resolution of conflict in Africa in general and in Southern Africa in particular.
20. The defence sub-committee has sub-sub-committees on specialist areas, including operations; intelligence; personnel development; logistics; maritime and aviation co-operation; and chaplains, legal and medical associations.
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