WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that "it would be nice" if Japan, China and other countries that are highly dependent on energy imports from the Middle East joined his efforts to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
In renewing his plea for such assistance, Trump asserted that a "simple military maneuver" is needed to reopen the strait, which has been effectively shut since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran started on Feb. 28.
But the move, Trump said, would require many ships to be deployed to the area.
"It's relatively safe, but you need a lot of help," Trump told reporters at the White House. "NATO could help us, but they, so far, haven't had the courage to do so, and others could help us."
"You know, we don't use the strait...We don't need it. Europe needs it. (South) Korea, Japan, China, a lot of other people. So, they'll have to get involved a little bit on that," Trump added.
Trump's remarks came a day after he held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the Oval Office, during which the war against Iran was a major topic.
At the start of the meeting, when reporters were present, Trump praised Japan for "stepping up to the plate," unlike the NATO security alliance.
Takaichi later told reporters that she had told him in detail "what Japan can do and cannot do" under Japan's pacifist Constitution.
On Tuesday, Trump wrote on social media that he no longer sought assistance from U.S. allies to keep the critical shipping lane open and safe, citing the U.S. military's success against Iran.
But Trump's latest comments suggest he still wants help from other countries to provide tanker protection through the strait, with the war upending global energy markets.
Later in the day, he said in a Truth Social post, "The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it -- The United States does not!"
On Thursday, Japan and leading European countries, including Britain and France, issued a statement condemning "in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces."
In addition, the statement, which was subsequently joined by Bahrain, South Korea and other countries, said they are ready to contribute to "appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage" through the narrow waterway, through which around 20 percent of the world's oil supply was transported each day before the war.
The British government has decided to allow the United States to use its military bases for strikes on Iranian missile sites that could target vessels in the strait. However, when Trump spoke to the press on Friday before departing for Florida, he said Britain "should have acted a lot faster."
