Buitelandse vlagvertoonbesoeke aan Suid-Afrikaanse hawens (2): Die periode van fluktuerende internasionale betrekkinge, 1961-94

Abstract

In a previous article a brief historical review was given of flag-showing visits by foreign warships to South Africa from 1652 to 1961; i.e. from the time of the Dutch settlement at the Cape until South Africa became a republic. In this, the second of three articles that deal with visits by foreign "grey diplomats" to South African ports, foreign flag-showing cruises to the Republic of South Africa in the years 1961 to 1994 are described and analysed. Three phases in this period can be identified gradual isolation, 1961-76; almost complete isolation, 1977-89; and South Africa's gradual re-admission to the international community, 1990-4, with the concomitant increase in the    number of foreign warship visits to South Africa. Although the National Party gradually implemented its policy of apartheid after it had come to power in 1948, the international consequences were only felt in the early 1960s, and this - as well as the Cold War - will throughout the article be taken into account, indicating how it impacted on the country's naval relations.