« Reply #1997 on: March 16, 2026, 08:07:15 am »
Seems that Trump's request for more countries to send ships to the Persian Gulf is being ignored...
Trump demands others help secure Strait of Hormuz, Japan and Australia say no plans to send shipshttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trump-demands-others-help-secure-strait-of-hormuz-japan-and-australia-say-no-plans-to-send-ships/ar-AA1YHEyPU.S. President Donald Trump's demands 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 navy vessels to the Middle East to escort ships through the vital waterway.
With the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran creating turmoil across the Middle East and shaking up global energy markets in its third week, Trumpon 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.
(snip)
"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."
(snip)
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, a staunch Trump supporter, 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 from where it gets 95% of its oil.
(snip)
Australia, another key Indo-Pacific security ally to the U.S. that also relies heavily on fuels made with Middle Eastern crude, said it will not send naval ships to assist in reopening the strait either.
"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.
(snip)
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.
(snip)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed the need to reopen the strait with Trump, and with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, a Downing Street spokeswoman said on Sunday, while South Korea has said it would carefully review Trump's request.
EXCERPT
So it seems that Trump's mouth has written checks that the U.S. Navy can't cash.
« Last Edit: March 16, 2026, 08:17:43 am by Timber Rattler »
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