US renews call on Japan, other allies to help reopen Strait of Hormuz
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US President Donald Trump said the Iran war will be one of the subjects to be discussed with Chinese leader Xi during their meeting next week.
PHOTO: AFP
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The United States on May 5 renewed its call on Japan, South Korea and other allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, amid a fresh spike in Middle East tensions after US President Donald Trump’s new initiative to break Iran’s chokehold on the key trade passage began this week.
“We hope South Korea would step up, just like we hope Japan would step up, just like we hope Australia would step up, just like we hope Europe steps up,” US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during a press conference at the Pentagon.
The US mission, dubbed Project Freedom, began on May 4 to help guide stranded commercial ships through the narrow shipping route, which Iran has effectively closed since the country came under attack by the United States and Israel in late February.
However, only two US-flagged merchant vessels are known to have successfully transited the waterway with military escorts under the initiative, the beginning of which triggered an exchange of fire between the United States and Iran.
Mr Trump said on May 4 that Iran had also fired shots at a South Korean cargo ship and other targets unrelated to the maritime operation.
The United States and Iran each continued to claim to be in control of the important trade corridor. A day earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also urged China to “step up” its diplomacy with Iran, given that the Asian power has long purchased most of its oil exports.
But Mr Trump, who is slated to visit Beijing next week for a highly anticipated meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, was rather measured in his comments on May 5.
Mr Trump told reporters at the White House that the Iran war will be one of the subjects to be discussed with Mr Xi, adding that the Chinese leader has been “very nice about this”.
“I think he’s been very respectful. We haven’t been challenged by China. They don’t challenge us,” he said. “I don’t think he’d do that, because of me.”
Mr Hegseth stressed that Project Freedom is “defensive in nature, focused in scope and temporary in duration” and that the United States considers a ceasefire with Iran, agreed upon about a month ago, “not over”.
The Pentagon chief reiterated Washington’s claim that the waterway is most vital for the economies of other countries, and that the US military has been working hard in the area on their behalf.
“This is a temporary mission for us. As I’ve said before, the world needs this waterway a lot more than we do. We’re stabilising the situation so commerce can flow again, but we expect the world to step up at the appropriate time,” he said. KYODO NEWS
