Trump seeks help securing Strait of Hormuz - Japan and Australia say they have no plans to send ships
US President Donald Trump's calls for a coalition to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz appeared to fall on deaf ears on Monday, as allies Japan and Australia said they were not planning to send naval vessels to the Middle East to escort ships through the vital waterway.
“I’m asking these countries to come and defend their territory because it’s their territory,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Florida to Washington. “It’s where they get their energy from.”
Trump said his administration has already contacted seven countries, but did not identify them. In a social media post last weekend, he hoped that China, France, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and others would participate.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, an ardent Trump supporter, said Monday that her country, constrained by its constitution that renounces war, has no plans to send naval vessels to escort ships to the Middle East from where it gets 95% of its oil.
Australia, another key US Indo-Pacific security ally that also relies heavily on fuels produced with Middle Eastern crude, said it would not send naval vessels to help reopen the strait.
Trump told the Financial Times newspaper on Sunday that he expected China to help unblock the strait ahead of his scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing later this month and could postpone his trip if China did not offer assistance.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not respond to Trump's stance.
Trump also increased pressure on European allies to help defend the strait, warning that NATO faces a "very bad" future if its members do not come to Washington's aid.
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