March 16 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump called on allies over the weekend to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as Iranian forces continue attacks on the vital waterway amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, now in its third week.
Trump said his administration has already contacted seven countries, but declined to identify them. In an earlier social media post, he said that he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others would participate.
Iran has effectively shut the Strait, a narrow passage of water between Iran and Oman, choking off a fifth of global oil supply in the biggest disruption ever.
Below are how some countries have responded to Washington’s call to send ships to the region:
JAPAN
Japan does not currently plan to dispatch naval vessels to escort ships in the Middle East, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Monday.
“We have not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships. We are continuing to examine what Japan can do independently and what can be done within the legal framework,” Takaichi told parliament.
Takaichi will travel to Washington this week for talks with Trump that she said will cover the conflict with Iran.
AUSTRALIA
Australia will not send naval ships to assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a government minister said on Monday.
“We won’t be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz. We know how incredibly important that is, but that’s not something that we’ve been asked or that we’re contributing to,” Catherine King, a member of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s cabinet, said in an interview with state broadcaster ABC.
SOUTH KOREA
“We will communicate closely with the U.S. regarding this matter and make a decision after careful review,” South Korea’s presidential office said on Sunday.
Under South Korea’s constitution, overseas troop deployments require parliamentary approval, and opposition figures have said any dispatch of warships to the Strait would need consent from the legislature.
BRITAIN
Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed the need to reopen the Strait to end disruption to global shipping with Trump, a Downing Street spokeswoman said on Sunday.
Starmer also spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and they have agreed to continue talks on the Middle East conflict at a meeting on Monday, the spokeswoman added.
EUROPEAN UNION
EU foreign ministers will on Monday discuss bolstering a small naval mission in the Middle East but they are not expected to discuss expanding its role to include the choked-off Strait, diplomats and officials say.
The EU’s Aspides mission was established in 2024 to protect ships from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebel group in the Red Sea.
GERMANY
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Sunday that Aspides – named after the Greek word for “shields” – was not even effective in carrying out its current task.
“That is why I am very sceptical that extending Aspides to the Strait of Hormuz would provide greater security,” he said in an interview with Germany’s ARD television.
(Compiled by Himani Sarkar; Editing by Michael Perry and Tom Hogue)
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