The Indian Government, after being named by a US official, when asked about the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, clarified that it is not in ‘any bilateral talks’ related to being part of any coalition to help reopen the waterway.
India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal provided the update during a press briefing in Delhi on March 16. “We are aware that this matter is being discussed bilaterally by several countries. We have had no such bilateral discussion yet,” HT quoted Randhir Jaiswal.
In relation to a Financial Times article concerning the Iranian government and Indian shipping, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar indicated his discussions with Iranian officials assisted in getting certain vessels that were Indian flagged to pass through and that he continues to communicate with them.
“India and Iran have a relationship. And this is a conflict that we regard as something very unfortunate," he added.
US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright stated in a press conference yesterday that President Donald Trump is making calls to other countries regarding assisting the reopening of the strait.
Wright told reporters that he has heard names of some of these countries, including China, Japan, the UK, France and South Korea; he also stated that certain allies of the United States have expressed an interest in assisting.
“The world depends on the flows through Hormuz, and most importantly, for the Asian nations, Japan, Korea, China, Thailand, India, a meaningful part of their total energy supply comes from the Strait of Hormuz. So the whole world would be united in opening the Strait of Hormuz, and we will have the support of other nations to achieve that objective,” Wright said.
In response to Wright, Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in parliament yesterday that Japan is not presently sending ships to escort any of its oil ships through the strait.
Analysts have commented on the fact that any kind of rupture or interference with the flow of goods and oil through the Strait of Hormuz may cause world trade and oil prices to be materially impacted. The price of crude oil has increased to more than USD 100.00 per barrel since the beginning of such an engagement.
The OPEC member states of Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq all use the Strait of Hormuz to send most of their crude oil to Asia.
Following his announcement that the United States could handle maintaining free passage in the strait alone, President Trump on Monday said that he was considering accepting help from other nations.
“I am demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their territory, they should help us,” he told reporters. "You could make the case that maybe we shouldn't be there at all, because we don't need it. We have a lot of oil," Trump argued.
According to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the strait is open to all but the ships of those who attack Iran and its allies. In an interview with MS Now over the weekend, he said that “the Strait of Hormuz is open” for transit except for those attacking Iran or its allies, so those who do not want to travel through the strait due to security concerns are doing so because of their own concerns, and that many ships continue to pass safely through the strait.
“Of course, many of them prefer not to because of their security concerns. This has nothing to do with us. And at the same time, many tankers and ships are passing through the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
The Strait of Hormuz, a key oil route through which 20 per cent of the world’s supplies pass, has been effectively closed under Iranian watch since the US and Israel launched strikes on Tehran over two weeks ago.