Japan and Australia said they have no plans to send ships to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway that Iran has mostly blocked to oil tanker traffic, as Donald Trump ramps up pressure on allies to provide support, SİA informs via The Guardian.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Tehran, in retaliation for airstrikes by the US and Israel, has proved catastrophic for global energy and trade flows, causing the largest oil supply disruption in history and soaring global oil prices.
Trump on Sunday said his administration had already contacted seven countries for support, 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.
Speaking in parliament, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan did not currently 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 said.
She also said the US has yet to make a formal request for assistance.
Sending its self-defense forces abroad is politically sensitive in officially pacifist Japan, as many voters support the US-imposed, war-renouncing 1947 constitution.
She was echoed by Japan's defence minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, who said he has no plans to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz under the current volatile conditions. "What we can technically do and whether we should do it under the current circumstances is a different story," he said.
Australia maintains it has not received any formal requests to send warships to the strait.
"We won't be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz," transport minister Catherine King told the national broadcaster. "We know how incredibly important that is but that's not something we've been asked or we're contributing to."
The conservative Coalition opposition was also cautious about Australia's involvement.
"If [a request from the US] came, we'd have to very carefully consider it against our national interest and particularly whether we have the relevant naval vessels available that could safely do that mission," defence shadow minister, James Paterson, told Channel Nine's Today show.
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