Australia urged to ‘stay far away’ from Middle East war
Australia and other US allies should continue to resist Donald Trump’s call for war and pressure Washington to end the conflict with Iran, a foreign policy expert says.
The American president named a number of countries, including Australia, in his social media post after the international community refused to join the war in the Middle East.
Mr. Trump has requested a naval coalition to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed in response to the U.S.-Israeli war.
One-fifth of the world’s oil supply is transported via the main shipping route, and fuel prices are soaring as a result of the conflict.
Center for United States Studies Associate Professor David Smith says Australia does not want war and should not contribute to the conflict.
“The best thing for Australia is to stay as far away from the Strait of Hormuz as possible,” he said.
“Allied naval deployment risks prolonging the conflict.”
Dr Smith said Mr Trump’s “inconsistent” statements showed the US president was unable to decide on the objectives of the war, let alone what victory would look like.
“The United States’ allies need to try to persuade it to end the conflict because that is the most likely way to reopen the strait,” he said.
The Albanian government said there was no official request from the United States to send a warship and Australia would not do so.
But Australian Strategic Policy Institute chief executive Justin Bassi said all of America’s allies and partners needed to work with the US to secure and reopen the oil corridor.
“This doesn’t mean we have to blindly or uncritically support the United States,” he said.
“This should be seen as a demonstration to the United States, not for us to sit back and say ‘you broke it, you fix it,’ but rather an opportunity to show the rest of the world that democracies need each other and must work together, including the United States, in the face of common threats.”
Australia has deployed a Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail aircraft to the Middle East to help monitor the region.
The Iranian strike touched down near an Australian base in the United Arab Emirates shortly after 9am (AEDT) on Wednesday.
