The January 9-16 "Will for Peace" drill hosted by South Africa risks further straining its ties with the United States, which is in dispute with many of the countries taking part.
AFP journalists saw two Chinese ships in Cape Town's False Bay harbour on Wednesday, joined by an Iranian vessel on Thursday.
South African navy officials said warships from Russia were also expected to take part in the China-led exercises.
The drill was focused on the "safety of shipping and maritime economic activities", the South African defence force said in December when it announced the manoeuvres.
It was intended to "deepen cooperation in support of peaceful maritime security initiatives," it said.
The statement said the exercise would involve navies from BRICS countries.
BRICS, originally made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and, more recently, Indonesia.
The joint drills -- previously known as Exercise Mosi -- were initially scheduled for November 2025 but were postponed due to a clash with the G20 summit in Johannesburg.
South Africa's Democratic Alliance (DA), a member of the ruling unity government, said parliament had not been "properly briefed" on the drills, including cost, command structure and diplomatic consequences.
"South Africa's defence and foreign policy must be transparent, constitutional, and principled and certainly not being quietly reshaped through military exercises that contradict our stated neutrality and damage our standing in the world," DA spokesperson on defence, Chris Hattingh, said in a statement.
The centre-right party -- which joined government after the African National Congress lost its majority in 2024 due to voter disillusionment with corruption and mismanagement -- vowed to demand full transparency in parliament.
President Donald Trump has accused countries in the BRICS group of emerging nations of "anti-American" policies.
South Africa has drawn US criticism for its close ties with Russia and a range of other policies, including its decision to bring a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice over the Gaza war.
South Africa's military was criticised for hosting naval exercises with Russia and China in 2023 that coincided with the one-year anniversary of the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.
The three countries first conducted joint naval drills in 2019.
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