Trump renews calls on Korea, China, Japan, others to help keep Strait of Hormuz open
Published: 17 Mar. 2026, 09:27
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- KIM MIN-YOUNG
- [email protected]
![U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Trump National Doral Miami in Miami, Florida, U.S., March 9, 2026. [REUTERS/YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/17/b70e6067-7187-4b44-b351-1d50e6794329.jpg)
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Trump National Doral Miami in Miami, Florida, U.S., March 9, 2026. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday specifically called on Korea, China, Japan and other countries to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route off Iran, amid growing concerns over disruptions to shipping through the vital waterway.
Trump made the calls during a meeting with trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts at the White House, highlighting that the United States' military has "protected" allies and partners for a long time, and that the United States never asked for "reimbursement" for maintaining the strait.
Iran has effectively shut the strait, escalating concerns about the war's impact on oil prices. The waterway is responsible for about a fifth of the world's oil supply.
"We strongly encourage other nations whose economies depend on this strait far more than ours. We get less than 1 percent of our oil from the strait and some countries get much more," Trump said.
"Japan gets 95 percent. China gets 90 percent. Many of the Europeans get quite a bit. Korea gets 35 percent. So we want them to come and help us with the strait," he added.
He went on to underscore that the United States has provided security protection to allies, apparently raising pressure on them to contribute to the U.S. efforts to secure the strait.
"We've protected them from horrible outside sources, and they weren't that enthusiastic, and the level of enthusiasm matters to me," Trump said without naming the countries under U.S. protection.
![President Donald Trump speaks during an event celebrating Women's History Month in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, March 12. [UPI/YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/17/4a8cb88f-cc90-4e71-89c5-c45b3c82a451.jpg)
President Donald Trump speaks during an event celebrating Women's History Month in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, March 12. [UPI/YONHAP]
"We have some countries where we have 45,000 soldiers, great soldiers, protecting them from harm's way, and we have done a great job," he added.
During a press availability at the White House later, Trump pointed out the number of U.S. troops in Korea, Japan and Germany, reiterating calls for allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
"You have to remember. We have 45,000 troops in Japan. We have 45,000 troops in Korea. We have 45,000 [...] 50,000 troops in Germany," he said. "We defend all these countries."
U.S. Forces Korea has about 28,500 service members, while the United States has about 55,000 troops in Japan and over 35,000 troops in Germany.
Seoul has so far struck a cautious tone on Trump's call to join the operation to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, saying that the request for the dispatch of a warship is an issue that needs "sufficient" consultations with the United States, and that it intends to deal with it in a careful manner.
![U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at Verst Logistics in Hebron, Kentucky, on March 11. [AFP/YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/17/29ec2c36-1924-453f-ac46-694a43128801.jpg)
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at Verst Logistics in Hebron, Kentucky, on March 11. [AFP/YONHAP]
Trump's request for aid in securing the strait appeared to be a tricky test of allies' willingness to support the United States. Trump’s has claimed that allies that have long benefited from U.S. security support should now step up to help the United States. However, European responses has signaled reluctance to full-blown intervention.
“This is not our war. We have not started it,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Monday, in a European Union gathering in Brussels. “What does [...] Trump expect a handful or two handfuls of European frigates to do in the Strait of Hormuz that the powerful U.S. Navy cannot do?”
“Let me be clear: That won’t be, and it’s never been envisioned to be, a NATO mission," said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in reference to joining missions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump added during the meeting with the Kennedy Center trustees, "We don't need anybody. We are the strongest nation in the world. We have the strongest military by far in the world. We don't need them.
"I am almost doing it in some cases not because we need it, but because I want to find out how they react."
![U.S. President Donald Trump, with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at his side, looks on as he speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on a flight from Dover, Delaware, to Miami, Florida, on March 7. [REUTERS/YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/17/96580c24-d06b-4492-8735-c34b61275b5d.jpg)
U.S. President Donald Trump, with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at his side, looks on as he speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on a flight from Dover, Delaware, to Miami, Florida, on March 7. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
As the war progresses, the Trump administration is expected to call for support from allies and partners.
"These people literally needed 90 percent, 95 percent of their energy or their oil comes out of the strait and they should be in here very happily helping us," Trump said.
Korea currently has its Cheonghae naval unit in the Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy operations.
In 2020, Seoul decided to deploy naval forces to the Strait of Hormuz for independent operations, temporarily expanding the Cheonghae unit's operational area to cover the tense waterway, amid pressure from Washington to contribute to its effort to protect what it regards as global commons in the Middle East.
"I think they will negotiate at some point," Trump said Monday when asked about the response from Iranian leadership. "We are doing very well with respect to the whole situation in Iran."
“We never asked for a cease-fire, and we have never asked even for negotiation,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told CBS on Sunday. “We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes.”
BY KIM MIN-YOUNG, YONHAP [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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