MBABANE:The United States’ ambassador-designate to South Africa, Brent Bozell III, has warned that Washington sees Pretoria as drifting into China’s orbit-and vowed to challenge what he described as South Africa’s “geostrategic drift” toward America’s global competitors, IOL News reported on Friday.
Appearing before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week, Bozell pledged that, if confirmed as Washington\'s top diplomat in Pretoria, he would communicate the US objections to South Africa’s geostrategic drift from non-alignment toward competitors, including Russia, China and Iran.
Bozell’s statement signals that Washington’s potential next envoy to Pretoria will not shy away from confronting South Africa’s increasingly close relations with Beijing-mutual ties that have grown over the past decade to make China South Africa’s largest trading partner.
\"If confirmed, I will approach my ambassadorship with respect for the South African people. South Africa is our largest trading partner on the African continent, and more than 500 US businesses in South Africa employ over 250,000 South Africans. I take seriously my responsibility for ensuring the safety of the nearly 400,000 American citizens who annually visit South Africa and for the care of the hardworking diplomats at our US embassy and consulates. I come before you at a challenging moment for US–South Africa relations,” Bozell told Senators.
The US Ambassador designate further promised to persuade South Africa to drop the International Criminal Court(ICJ) case against Israel.
US Ambassador-designate to South Africa Brent Bozell III addressed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington this week. He vowed to challenge South Africa’s growing ties with China and press Pretoria to withdraw its genocide case against Israel. Image: KRIS CONNOR / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP