Australia won’t join Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade
Australia will not join US efforts to blockade the Strait of Hormuz; The federal government argues that this move puts global trade in a “very difficult” situation.
Senior ministers also say it would be unsustainable for Iran to suffer permanent damage to the critical waterway.
After peace talks between American and Iranian negotiators collapsed over the weekend, President Donald Trump announced that the US Navy would stop “any” ships from entering or leaving the key trade route, which until recently carried about a fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia had not been asked for help with the blockade.
“We’ve received no requests … they’ve made this announcement overnight and they’ve done that in a unilateral way,” he told Nine’s Today Show on Monday.
“We haven’t been asked and I don’t expect to be asked.”
He also called for the reopening of the strait and an end to hostilities.
Resources Minister Madeleine King said the American blockade posed a challenge to international trade at a time when de-escalation was sorely needed.
“This presents a very difficult situation for global trade,” Ms King told the ABC’s AM program on Monday.
“In fact, the best thing Australia can do is encourage both sides to return to the negotiating table.”
Iran started charging fees to ships that want to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Mr. Trump ordered the U.S. Navy to find and stop any ship that paid the price.
“No one who pays illegal tolls will have safe passage on the high seas,” he said on Truth Social.
Ms King said Iran’s continued influence in the Strait would be very difficult for Australia and other countries.
“Any suggestion that a regime listed as a terrorist organization could cause permanent damage to a key trade route is unsustainable,” he said.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Ted O’Brien said any move to join the US blockade would have to meet two key tests: whether it was in Australia’s national interests and whether the military had sufficient capacity to send in troops or equipment.
“It is in our national interest to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, isn’t it? This is a big step,” he said.
“(But) what assets are required? Do we have the ability to dispatch them?”
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