South Korea ‘closely monitoring’ Trump call to send warships to Hormuz

South Korea relies heavily on energy imports, including through the Strait of Hormuz.. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Seoul - South Korea said on March 15 it was paying close attention to US President Donald Trump’s call for Seoul and other countries to send warships to help protect oil supplies passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Since US-Israeli forces launched a war against Iran on Feb 28, Tehran has responded with attacks and threats that have nearly halted shipping in the strait, through which one-fifth of global oil supplies normally passes.

After earlier vowing that the US Navy would begin escorting tankers through the waterway, Mr Trump said on social media on March 14 that “many countries” would also send warships to keep it open, naming South Korea and Japan among others.

But after a senior Japanese official said on March 15 that Tokyo maintained a high threshold for such a move, Seoul also refrained from making any explicit commitments.

“We are closely monitoring President Trump’s remarks on social media and will carefully consider the matter in close consultation with the United States,” a South Korean presidential official told AFP.

Seoul was “comprehensively considering and exploring various measures... to ensure the safety of energy transport routes”, the official said.