Countries like China and Japan, that largely depend on shipping trade in the Strait of Hormuz, should be protecting their own ships on what ‘has always been a dangerous journey’, said US President Trump in an official statement in the light of an ongoing tension in the Middle East.
China gets 91% of its Oil from the Straight, Japan 62%, & many other countries likewise. So why are we protecting the shipping lanes for other countries (many years) for zero compensation. All of these countries should be protecting their own ships on what has always been a dangerous journey. We don’t even need to be there in that the US has just become (by far) the largest producer of Energy anywhere in the world! The US request for Iran is very simple – No Nuclear Weapons and No Further Sponsoring of Terror!,
…said Trump in a tweet.
This comes on the aftermath of two tanker attacks at the Strait earlier in June, which escalated the existing tension between Iran and the US.
On Thursday, 13 June, the Panamanian flagged tanker ‘Kokuka Courageous’ and the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker ‘Front Altair’, were hit in two subsequent suspected attacks in the Gulf of Oman, which left the one vessel ablaze and both adrift.
The incident came only a month after a similar incident in which four tankers were struck off Fujairah.
The US has accused Iran of being behind the attacks in the major strategic waterway for world oil supplies, which caused oil prices to surge by 4%. Iran rejects the allegation.
The US Navy has had a permanent presence in the Persian Gulf since 1949.
