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The Trump administration plans to announce as early as this week that multiple countries have agreed to form a coalition that will escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, March 15, citing US officials.
US President Donald Trump has warned that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) faces a “very bad” future if US allies fail to assist in opening up the strait, in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday.
Trump told the FT he could also delay his summit with China’s President Xi Jinping later this month as he presses Beijing to help unblock the crucial waterway.
“I think China should help too because China gets 90% of its oil from the strait,” Trump told the newspaper, adding he would prefer to know Beijing’s position before the planned visit.
“We may delay,” he said of the trip.
The US president said countries that benefit from the shipping route should help secure it.
“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” he told the FT.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng wrapped up the first of two days of talks in Paris on Sunday to iron out kinks in their trade truce and clear a path for Trump’s trip to Beijing to meet with Xi at the end of March.
Trump on Saturday, March 14, called on nations to send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for shipping as Iranian forces respond to US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
Trump, in a post on his Truth Social account, said he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others would send ships to help protect the vital, narrow passage through which about a fifth of global oil passes.
This comes as Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar hailed direct talks with Iran as the most effective way to restart shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, in an interview with the FT published on Sunday.
Jaishankar said he was engaged in talks with Tehran and that “talking has yielded some results.”
Two Indian-flagged liquefied petroleum gas carriers, Shivalik and Nanda Devi, carrying about 92,712 metric tons of LPG, crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday en route to India.
Jaishankar told the FT that this was an example of what diplomacy could bring.
“Certainly, from India’s perspective, it is better that we reason and we coordinate and we get a solution than we don’t,” he told the newspaper.
Jaishankar said there was no “blanket arrangement” for Indian-flagged ships and that Iran had not received anything in exchange.
When asked whether European countries could replicate India’s arrangement, Jaishankar said each relationship with Iran “stands on its own merits,” making comparisons difficult, though he added he would be happy to share India’s approach with EU capitals and noted that many had also held talks with Tehran.
“While this is a welcome development, there is continuing conversation because there is continued work on that,” he told the FT.
Count Australia out
For its part, Australia will not send naval ships to assist in reopening the strait, 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 Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s cabinet, said in an interview with state broadcaster ABC.
EU to discuss bolstering naval mission
Meanwhile, EU 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, 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. It currently has an Italian and a Greek ship under its direct command and can also call upon a French ship and another Italian vessel for support.
Some European officials have considered whether the EU mission could be part of an effort to restore freedom of navigation in the Gulf.
EU officials and diplomats said ministers’ discussions in Brussels would likely focus on a push by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to add more ships to the mission.
“The conversation on Monday will be about trying to have more member states contribute further capacities,” said a senior EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Skeptical
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 skeptical that extending Aspides to the Strait of Hormuz would provide greater security,” he said in an interview with Germany’s ARD television.
France has been seeking to assemble a coalition to secure the strait once the security situation stabilizes, while Britain is discussing a range of options with allies to ensure the security of shipping, officials said.
It is too early to say whether the EU as a bloc could play a role in any such initiative, diplomats said. Any change to the mandate of Aspides would require the approval of all the EU’s 27 member countries.
“Protecting ships in the Strait of Hormuz in the current situation is a decision that won’t be taken lightly by ministers,” said an EU diplomat.
Macron weighs in
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday he had asked Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to put an immediate end to attacks against countries in the Middle East, whether directly or through proxies, including in Lebanon and Iraq.
“I reminded him that France is acting within a strictly defensive framework aimed at protecting its interests, its regional partners, and freedom of navigation, and that it is unacceptable for our country to be targeted,” Macron said in a post on X.
Macron also stressed the need for freedom of navigation to resume in the Strait of Hormuz.
“Freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz must be restored as soon as possible,” he said.
The French president said lasting stability would require a new political and security framework addressing concerns over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, ballistic missile program, and regional activities.
“Only a new political and security framework can ensure peace and security for all,” Macron said, adding that such an arrangement must guarantee Iran never acquires nuclear weapons. – Rappler.com
