From Tokyo to Canberra, Trump's Closest Pacific Allies Are Turning Their Backs on His Hormuz Warship Demand

Donald Trump's push to assemble an international naval coalition at the Strait of Hormuz has run into its first and most public obstacle — two of his closest Pacific allies. Japan and Australia both confirmed on Monday they had no plans to send warships to escort commercial shipping through the strait, as Brent crude climbed as much as 3 per cent on Sunday to top $106 (approximately £82) a barrel before easing to around $104.63 (approximately £81), with markets seeing no end in sight to the effective closure of the waterway.

The refusals came just hours after Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday declaring the situation was already moving in his favour. 'Many Countries, especially those who are affected by Iran's attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe,' he wrote. He specifically named Japan among those he expected to act, and followed up with a second post stating: 'The Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help — A LOT!'

Tokyo's Position

Japan's response was careful but unambiguous. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told an Upper House Budget Committee on Monday that 'no decision has been made whatsoever regarding the dispatch of escort vessels,' adding that her government was examining 'what Japan can do independently and what is possible within the legal framework.' She also confirmed she had not received a direct request from Trump. Defence Minister Shinjirō Koizumi was more direct, telling parliament that current circumstances 'do not warrant military participation from Japan.'

Takaichi said such an operation would be legally 'very difficult,' a position rooted in Japan's post-war pacifist constitution, which places strict limits on overseas military deployments. The timing adds a layer of political sensitivity — Trump's call for Japan to send warships heaped pressure on Takaichi just days before her scheduled visit to Washington for talks with the US president. Japan sources 95 per cent of its oil from the Middle East, making the strait's closure a direct threat to its energy security — yet that dependency alone is not enough to clear its high legal threshold for deploying forces into an active conflict zone.

Canberra's Refusal

Australia's position was equally firm. Cabinet Minister Catherine King said: 'We won't be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz. We know how incredibly important that is, but that's not something that we've been asked or that we're contributing to.' King confirmed that Canberra had not received any formal request from Washington for naval participation, directly contradicting Trump's assertion that countries were already lined up to join. Australia has, however, sent air support to the region.

The back-to-back rejections reflect a wider pattern of allied hesitation. France and the UK had already ruled out a naval contribution before Japan and Australia made their positions public. South Korea said it would make a decision 'after careful review,' stopping well short of any commitment. None of the countries Trump appealed to by name — including China, Japan, France and the UK — have publicly committed to deploying their navies to secure the strait.

The Stakes at Hormuz

Around 20 per cent of the world's oil — approximately 20 million barrels per day — normally travels through the narrow corridor between Iran in the north and Oman and the United Arab Emirates in the south, and those transits have all but stopped since Operation Epic Fury began on 28 February. About 1,000 oil tankers are currently stranded and unable to pass, with energy markets and global air travel both bearing the consequences.

Trump has made clear the pressure extends beyond the strait itself. 'If there's no response or if it's a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO,' he said, warning that the alliance's future was tied to allied willingness to act. Despite that pressure, Trump said he had contacted roughly seven countries for support without disclosing their names, and no public commitments have been secured.

The strait's sustained closure is already reshaping energy markets, disrupting global supply chains, and stranding thousands of tankers. With Japan, Australia, France and the UK all declining to commit forces, Trump's coalition faces a credibility gap before it has even been formally announced. US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has said he expects China to be 'a constructive partner' in reopening the strait, though analysts have questioned whether Beijing would deploy warships under US leadership. How the remaining named nations respond in the days ahead will determine whether Washington can build a genuine multilateral front — or whether the world's most critical oil corridor remains closed indefinitely.