If the South Africans participating in Exercise Mosi II are impressed they would, I suspect, be falling for one of the oldest tricks in the book.

It's odd how embarrassing news has a way of leaking out in phases. First, you get the broad picture; then the focus is refined; then the real discomfiting stuff finally comes out.

In the case of Mosi II, the naval exercise between SA, Russia and China, the first impression was that it was going to be a limited affair involving two frigates.

Now it turns out that three SA vessels will be taking part from the SA side, that the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov is going to demonstrate Russia's "unstoppable" Zircon (Tsirkon) missile, and that a second Russian vessel will participate. In addition, it turns out the Chinese will be sending not one, but three vessels: the destroyer Huainan, the guided-missile frigate Rizhao and the supply ship Kekexilihu.

So from a minor exercise, Mosi II is turning out to be a pretty full-on military fandango, even without the participation of Brazil, which participated in Mosi I in 2019 but is keeping out of it this time. The event is being held on the anniversary...