Trump Calls on South Korea, Japan, and China to Help Escort Ships Through the Straits of Hormuz

I understand what Trump is saying, but this is going to be a very hard sell for Korea and Japan to send ships to be involved in an active shooting war to escort tanker ships through the Strait. China on the other hand would likely be reluctant to be seen as helping the U.S. against their ally Iran:

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday renewed his calls for South Korea, China, Japan and other countries to help keep the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route off Iran, open amid growing concerns over disruptions to shipping through the vital waterway.

Trump made the calls during a meeting with trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts at the White House, highlighting that the United States’ military has “protected” allies and partners for a long time, and that the U.S. never asked for “reimbursement” for maintaining the strait.

Iran has effectively shut the strait, escalating concerns about the war’s impact on oil prices. The waterway is responsible for about a fifth of the world’s oil supply.

“We strongly encourage other nations whose economies depend on this strait far more than ours. We get less than 1 percent of our oil from the strait and some countries get much more,” Trump said.

“Japan gets 95 percent. China gets 90 percent. Many of the Europeans get quite a bit. South Korea gets 35 percent. So we want them to come and help us with the strait,” he added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but he is also calling on NATO nations to escort ships as well. He is clearly trying to internationalize the Strait of Hormuz issue to get it reopened. If the Strait is reopened and the U.S. captures Kharg Island where 90% of Iran’s oil is exported from the war is over. The regime will crumble without the oil revenue and global pressure relieved on oil prices with the Strait reopened.