U.S. allies wary of Trump's pleas for help in Strait of Hormuz amid war in Middle East
CBC
U.S. President Donald Trump may delay his China trip due to the Iran war, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday it's not to pressure Beijing on the Strait of Hormuz.
"If the meeting for some reason was rescheduled, it would be rescheduled because of logistics," the secretary said on CNBC. "The president wants to remain in D.C. to co-ordinate the war and travelling abroad at a time like this may not be optimal."
Trump has suggested he may delay the trip as he seeks to ramp up pressure on Beijing to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and calm oil prices, which have soared during the Iran war.
In an interview Sunday with the Financial Times, Trump said China's reliance on oil from the Middle East means it ought to help with a new coalition he is trying to put together to get oil tanker traffic moving through the strait after Iran's threats have throttled global flows of oil.
Trump called for a coalition of nations to help reopen the vital shipping route, specifically naming China, U.K., Japan, France and South Korea.
Trump said he'd like to know before the trip whether Beijing will help. "We may delay," he said in the interview.
He also warned that the NATO alliance faces a "very bad" future if its members fail to come to Washington's aid.
Trump's call drew a wary response from allies, who voiced support for diplomatic efforts to reopen the route but signalled caution about the possibility of military action.
Japan said it had no plans to dispatch naval vessels to the strait, and Australia, which has said it would send a military surveillance aircraft and missiles to help defend the U.A.E., said it would not send its navy.
Germany's Defence Minister Boris Pistorius ruled out his country's participation in any military activity in the Iran war, including efforts to reopen the strait. "This is not our war, we have not started it."
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday that diplomacy was the right way to solve the crisis in the strait and there were no naval missions Italy is involved in that could be extended to the area.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he is working with allies on a plan to reopen the strait, but "will not be drawn into the wider war."
Starmer said Britain is discussing with the U.S. and allies in Europe and the Gulf the possibility of using mine-hunting drones that the U.K. has in the region. But he signalled the U.K. is unlikely to dispatch a warship.
Germany would not take part in the war nor in keeping the Strait of Hormuz open through military means, a government spokesperson said on Monday. Greece, another NATO ally, also said it will not engage in any military operations in the strait.
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