Australia and Japan say no to Trump demand to help secure Strait of Hormuz

TOKYO/PALM BEACH — Japan and Australia said on Monday they were not planning to send navy vessels to the Middle East to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, after US President Donald Trump called on allies to create a coalition to reopen the vital waterway.

With the US-Israeli war on Iran creating turmoil across the Middle East and shaking up global energy markets in its third week, Trump on Sunday insisted that nations relying heavily on oil from the Gulf have a responsibility to protect the strait through which 20% of the world's energy transits. Markets in Asia opened cautiously, with Brent crude rising more than 1% above $104.50 and regional share markets mostly weaker after Trump's comments about enlisting other countries to help safeguard the strait.

"I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory because it is their territory," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on the way from Florida to Washington. "It’s the place from which they get their energy."

Trump said his administration has already contacted seven countries, but did not identify the countries. In a weekend social media post he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others would participate. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Monday her country, constrained by its war-renouncing constitution, has no plan to dispatch naval vessels to escort ships in the Middle East.

"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. Australia, another key Indo-Pacific ally to the US, said it had not been asked and will not send naval ships to assist in reopening the strait either.

TRUMP MAY DELAY BEIJING VISIT WITHOUT CHINA SUPPORT

Trump told the Financial Times on Sunday he was expecting China to help unblock the strait before his scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing at the end of this month and might postpone his trip if it did not provide assistance.

“I think China should help too because China gets 90% of its oil from the Straits,” Trump said. “We may delay," he said in reference to his visit if China did not offer support in the Gulf. The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Trump also ratcheted up pressure on European allies to help protect the strait, warning that NATO faces a “very bad” future if its members fail to come to Washington’s aid. European Union foreign ministers will discuss on Monday bolstering a small naval mission in the Middle East but are not expected to decide on extending its role to the choked-off Strait of Hormuz.

DRONES CAUSE FIRE, DISRUPT TRAFFIC AT DUBAI AIRPORT

Despite repeated claims from US authorities to have destroyed Iran's military capabilities, drone attacks continued to threaten Gulf states on Monday. Dubai authorities said they had contained a fire but temporarily suspended flights at the airport after a drone attack hit a fuel tank. Saudi Arabia intercepted 34 drones in its eastern region in one hour, state media said.

US officials responding to economic uncertainty predicted on Sunday that the war on Iran would end within weeks and that a drop in energy costs would follow. Trump, who threatened more strikes on Iran's main oil export hub Kharg Island over the weekend, has said previously that Iran wants to negotiate, but Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi disputed that claim.

“We have never asked for a ceasefire, and we have never asked even for negotiations," Araqchi told CBS' "Face the Nation" program. "We are ready to defend ourselves for as long as it takes.”