Japan currently has no plans to deploy ships to escort merchant ships in the Middle East, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Monday, after US President Donald Trump called on allies to help escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
“We have not made any decisions about sending escort ships. We continue to examine what Japan can do on its own and what can be done within the legal framework,” Takaichi told parliament.
Trump’s call in a social media post for US allies, including Japan, to help protect oil and gas shipments through the strategic waterway puts Tokyo in a difficult position because its constitution, which renounces war, limits the scope of overseas military operations it can conduct.
The United States has not yet made a formal request for assistance.
Australia will not send warships to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a senior official said on Monday.
“We’re not going to send a ship into the Strait of Hormuz. We know how incredibly important it is, but it’s not something we’ve been asked to do or something we’re contributing to,” Catherine King, a member of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s cabinet, told ABC state television in an interview.
(Vijesti.ba)
