Update - U.S. President Donald Trump warned NATO of a “very bad” future if allies do not help open up the Strait of Hormuz and said he may also delay a planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in comments published by the Financial Times on Sunday.
“I think China should help too because China gets 90% of its oil from the Straits,” 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.
U.S. 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.
The U.S. 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.
Trump on Saturday called on nations to send warships to keep the narrow waterway open for shipping as Iranian forces continue attacks following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, saying he hoped countries including China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain would send ships to the area.
When asked to specify the assistance he wanted, Trump told the FT that it could include minesweepers and other military assets to counter drones and naval mines.
“We’re hitting them very hard,” Trump said of Iranian forces, according to the FT. “They’ve got nothing left but to make a little trouble in the Strait … these people are beneficiaries and they ought to help us police it.”
Iran effectively shut the strait after the United States and Israel launched attacks against it more than two weeks ago. About a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage of water between Iran and Oman.
Trump also warned Washington could launch further strikes on Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub, saying U.S. forces could target its oil infrastructure if needed.
“We can hit that in five minutes,” he said. “And there’s not a thing they can do about it.”
Trump also criticised Britain’s response after speaking with Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“The UK might be considered the number one ally… and when I asked for them to come, they didn’t want to come,” Trump told the Financial Times, adding that Britain only offered to send ships after the U.S. had already reduced Iran’s military capabilities.
The White House and the Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Following his comments on Nato, Donald Trump also spoke to the Financial Times about his upcoming summit in Beijing with China’s President Xi Jinping.
The president told the outlet that he expected China to assist in unblocking the Strait of Hormuz ahead of the meeting, and said that the nation receives "90% of its oil from the Straits".
The meeting in Beijing is scheduled for the end of March, but Trump said that he would ideally like to see action from China before then as two weeks was a "long time".
He added that the visit could be delayed, but did not give any further clarifying details.
For a more detailed analysis on the impact of the Strait’s closure on China, read this piece by BBC correspondent Laura Bicker.
Source: BBC
--Agencies
