“This is not our war, we have not started it.”
Countries have roundly rejected Donald Trump’s calls for them to send ships to the Strait of Hormuz to help unblock global oil supplies.
On Saturday, the US president shared a post on Truth Social in which he called on the UK, China, France, Japan, South Korea and other nations to send ships to the Strait to protect commercial ships.
The following day, Trump gave to the Financial Times in which he said failure to secure shipping would “be very bad for the future of Nato.”
And speaking to reporters on Air Force One, he issued a veiled threat to the UK if they did not help America, telling Keir Starmer: “We will remember.”
The response from other nations to Trump? This is your mess, you clean it up.
One by one, the US’s Nato allies and other countries have refused to send ships to the strait.
United Kingdom
Speaking from Downing Street on Monday, Starmer reiterated his stance that the UK will “not be drawn into wider war,” and that his priority was working to end the war as soon as possible to prevent the cost of living going up for Brits.
Germany
The Germans have been pretty clear as well, with their Defence Minister Boris Pistorius rejecting Trump’s demands. “This is not our war, we have not started it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Stefan Kornelius, spokesperson for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, dismissed Trump’s threats to Nato, saying the conflict “has nothing to do with NATO.”
He continued: “It’s not NATO’s war. NATO is a defensive alliance, an alliance for the defence of its territory. I would also like to remind you that the U.S. and Israel did not consult us before the war, and that Washington explicitly stated at the start of the war that European assistance was neither necessary nor desired.”
France
France had already made its position clear before Trump’s comments over the weekend. Speaking on Thursday, defence minister Catherine Vautrin said France would not be sending warships to the strait of Hormuz while the conflict continued to escalate.
“I’m very clear and firm on this topic; at this point, there is no question of sending any vessels to the strait of Hormuz,” she said.
Japan
On Monday, Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told parliament they were “not considering a maritime security operation.
Australia
Australia has also firmly ruled out sending ships to the strait. Speaking to ABC on Monday, cabinet member Catherine King said: “We won’t be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz. We know how incredibly important that is. That’s not something that we’ve been asked, or we’re contributing.”
China
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not say whether Beijing would accept Trump’s request, but that Beijing would work to strengthen “communication with relevant parties” in the Middle East and “play a constructive role for deescalation and restoration of peace”.
They said all parties have a responsibility to ensure a stable and unimpeded energy supply.
South Korea
South Korea’s presidential office said the country had taken note of Trump’s comments and would “communicate closely with the US regarding this matter and make a decision after careful review.”
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