“China Receives 90% of Its Oil Through Hormuz Strait… Must Help” “Warning to NATO About Negative Future Impact… Criticism of UK Response”
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Oh Soo-jin – President Donald Trump on the 15th (local time) reiterated pressure on China to cooperate in ensuring safety in the Hormuz Strait, even mentioning the possibility of postponing the US-China summit scheduled for the end of this month or early next month.
In a phone interview with the Financial Times (FT), President Trump stated, “China gets 90% of its oil through this strait (Hormuz Strait) so they must help,” insisting that China should participate in the operation to escort ships passing through the Hormuz Strait.
Regarding the US-China summit two weeks away, he remarked, “Two weeks is a long time” and suggested the schedule might be delayed if China does not respond to participating in the Hormuz Strait escort prior to the summit.
However, President Trump did not specify how much the summit might be postponed.
This statement was reported shortly after US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Paris to coordinate the agenda for the summit between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
FT reported that although China receives a large amount of oil from Iran, it has not yet shown a willingness to delay the summit with the US since the Iran war started.
President Trump also provided additional explanations on his previous day’s call via TruthSocial for naval dispatch to the Hormuz Strait involving South Korea, China, Japan, the UK, and France, emphasizing that “it is appropriate for beneficiaries of the Hormuz Strait to help ensure nothing bad happens there.”
He further mentioned NATO, warning that “a lack of response or a negative reaction could have a very bad impact on NATO’s future.”
To NATO, he commented, “We didn’t need to help them with the Ukraine issue, but we did help. Now we’ll see if they help us.”
When asked specifically what kind of help NATO should provide, President Trump did not give a specific answer, stating “anything.”
FT noted that Trump said allied nations should send more mine-clearing ships and explained that Europe has far more mine-clearing ships than the US.
Additionally, FT reported that President Trump expressed his desire for European special forces and other military support, saying he wants people who can stand up to the “mischievous actors” along the Iranian coast.
Trump stated, “Apart from causing some problems in the strait, they (Iran) have little left,” while adding, “It takes many people to monitor a few.”
He also candidly criticized UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s response after the Iran war began. The two leaders held a call regarding the Middle East situation on the same day.
Trump criticized, “The UK might be considered the No. 1 ally and the longest-standing country with us, but when I asked them to come, they didn’t want to,” and claimed, “As soon as we effectively disabled Iran’s threat capabilities, they said ‘Then we’ll send two ships.'”
He added, “I said I need the ships before a victory, not after.”
When asked about whether Russia is providing satellite data to Iran in the current war, he replied, “I don’t know.”