Trump says no need for allies' support to secure Strait of Hormuz
Washington (ANTARA) - US President Donald Trump, on Tuesday (17/3), stated that the US no longer needs support from the Japanese navy and other allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, and claimed that military success has been achieved in the war against Iran.
Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with other NATO members, Australia, Japan, and South Korea after they showed little interest in accepting his repeated requests to send warships to the important maritime corridor, through which around 20 per cent of the world’s oil shipments typically pass.
“Because we have achieved such great military success, we no longer ‘need’ or want assistance from NATO countries – WE NEVER NEEDED IT! The same goes for Japan, Australia, or South Korea,” he wrote on social media.
Trump’s change of course comes ahead of his planned meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the White House on Thursday.
Over the weekend, Trump expressed hope that Britain, China, France, Japan, and South Korea would cooperate with the United States to help keep the shipping lanes open and safe.
Japan and other Asian countries are heavily reliant on the Middle East for energy.
Japan depends on the region for more than 90 per cent of its crude oil imports, most of which pass through the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman.
However, it is difficult for Japan to send its Self-Defence Forces to a war zone due to its pacifist constitution.
Trump said most other NATO allies have informed the United States that they do not wish to join the US-Israel military campaign against Iran.
Particularly blaming European allies, Trump said, “I’m not surprised by their actions, because I’ve always considered NATO, where we spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year to protect these same countries, as a one-way street.”
Later that day, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he was “disappointed” with NATO and some other countries, without naming them.
“They should be very grateful,” Trump asserted, emphasising that without the latest military operations, “countries like Iran would be allowed to have nuclear weapons capability.”
With no signs of the war ending and Iran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, Trump is increasingly framing the military strikes launched against Iran on 28 February as an effort on behalf of many other parties to ensure world peace.
While speaking to the press, Trump also complained that the United States has provided a large amount of military equipment “free of charge” to Ukraine at the request of European allies to help it fight Russia.
Meanwhile, the president said the United States has received strong support from the Middle East, calling countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates “great countries.”
Source: Kyodo