Trump Calls on Five Nations, Including South Korea, to Guard Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump, speaking at the White House on March 16, urged five countries, including South Korea, China and Japan, to dispatch naval forces to the Strait of Hormuz to safeguard shipping lanes critical to global energy markets. He told reporters during a luncheon with Kennedy Center board members that the United States does not itself receive oil from Hormuz, yet other nations rely heavily on its shipments.
Trump enumerated rough shares of Hormuz oil imports cited by some allies, saying Japan gets about 95 percent, China about 90 percent, and Korea roughly 35 percent. He said several countries have told him they are ready to help defend the strait, while others have shown less enthusiasm, and he indicated the specifics would be announced soon by his national-security team.
In remarks that have drawn attention for their numbers and implications, Trump asserted that a country has deployed about 45,000 honorable soldiers to protect its allies—an amount he has previously misstated; U.S. forces based in South Korea number about 28,000. He reminded audiences that the United States has “protected” its allies for four decades, and suggested some partners are now cautious about becoming entangled in a conflict with Iran over limited remaining ammunition.
Earlier, Trump had used his Truth Social account to call on five nations to send ships to Hormuz to keep the strait open and secure. He claimed U.S. military operations in recent days targeted Iranian missile and drone facilities and said the United States has struck more than 7,000 Iranian targets, most of them civilian or commercial facilities, as part of a broad campaign since the start of the Iran-Israel conflict.
The president also asserted that more than 30 mine-laying ships used by Iran had been destroyed, and he portrayed Iran as actively attempting to threaten commercial shipping while insisting the United States remains ready to counter such moves. He did not name countries that had begun moving toward Hormuz, saying details would be released by aides in the near term.
Trump pressed China to participate in safeguarding Hormuz, noting Beijing benefits from Iran’s oil imports and replying to questions about progress with President Xi Jinping by saying China’s involvement would come in time. He indicated that Chinese leadership changes complicate the calculation and asserted that the Iranian leadership remains unclear, even suggesting that “all their leaders are dead” and that he does not know who currently leads the country.
The remarks touched on broader regional tensions. Trump claimed Iran’s internal response to protests had involved harsh crackdowns and suggested tens of thousands had been killed in recent weeks, while casting doubt on Iran’s stability and leadership. He also referenced potential spillover effects for allies in the Middle East, including Israel and Hezbollah.
The exchange comes amid ongoing U.S. emphasis on securing energy supply chains and sea lanes, while seeking allied burden-sharing in a volatile region. For U.S. readers, the statements illustrate how U.S. policy aims—defending global oil transit routes, deterring Iran, and maintaining alliance cohesion with Asian and European partners—continue to hinge on coordinated action among multiple nations, and how domestic political messaging around these issues can influence international diplomacy. The episode also underscores how fluctuations in Iran’s leadership and internal stability feed into broader questions about regional security, alliance commitments, and the resilience of global energy markets.