Responding to Trump? 35 countries will hold a meeting to discuss restoring navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

35 countries led by the United Kingdom will hold a meeting this week to discuss response measures aimed at restoring navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. This may be the latest collective response from the international community after Trump put pressure on global energy-consuming countries and demanded that they secure the safety of the strait themselves.

According to CCTV News, on April 1, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that this week the UK Foreign Secretary David Cooper will chair an international meeting on the Strait of Hormuz to discuss plans for restoring navigation through the strait. The meeting will involve 35 countries, including not only the UK but also France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, and others. After the meeting, UK military personnel will also hold a separate meeting to discuss how to ensure the Strait of Hormuz remains open and safe after the fighting ends.

The immediate background to the convening of the meeting is the exit signals released by Trump. According to a prior article by Wall Street Insights, in a speech at the national level he said the Strait of Hormuz will be “naturally” reopened, and he explicitly required that oil-consuming countries “take the lead” in ensuring the security of the corridor, adding that the United States would provide assistance while the relevant countries should bear primary responsibility. In addition, on March 30, Trump told his aides that even if the strait remains largely closed, he is willing to end military operations against Iran. His rationale was that forcibly reopening the strait would exceed the originally planned 4- to 6-week operational timeframe, and that follow-up work related to reopening the strait may be handed over to European and Gulf allies.

Weeks earlier, the Strait of Hormuz still carried about one-quarter of global seaborne oil trade. Now, as the conflict enters its second month, the number of commercial vessels transiting the route continues to decline. Asia, the region with the largest energy reliance along this waterway, is facing increasingly severe supply shocks. Governments across countries are under greater operational pressure in terms of diplomacy and security arrangements.

UK hosts 35-nation meeting; diplomatic sanctions and military options are added to the agenda in parallel

According to reports, Starmer said that after the end of the multilateral meeting chaired by Cooper, UK military personnel will also hold another meeting specifically to discuss how to ensure the Strait of Hormuz remains open and safe after the fighting ends.

France and Japan have reached agreement on their positions regarding the Iran ceasefire and shipping safety. After a call between French President Emmanuel Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Hayao Takashi Early, Macron said that both sides agreed to call for a ceasefire and to ensure safe passage of shipping in the region. Takashi Early also told the parliament in late March that, “international cooperation is crucial to ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and lowering tensions as early as possible.” She also made separate phone calls on the matter with the leaders of the Philippines, Malaysia, and the Marshall Islands.

As for Asian countries’ participation on the military front, analysts generally expect it to be limited. Japan’s constitution clearly prohibits the use of force in conflicts overseas. For most Asian countries, participating in this meeting more often means joining the process of diplomatic consultations rather than committing to military intervention.

Asian countries push forward on multiple fronts, seeking diplomatic breakthroughs separately

According to reports, from India to the Philippines, governments across Asia are holding direct negotiations with Iran regarding safe passage of vessels, while also seeking diplomatic solutions within small circles, and even discussing barter-style arrangements.

A report citing people familiar with the matter said that although India does not support Iran’s control of the strait, it is inclined to use multilateral forums such as the United Nations to push Tehran to open the waterway rather than take a confrontational pressure approach. The sources also said that Indian officials are worried that if Trump carries out an action to seize Iran’s Hormuz Island, it could trigger a further escalation of the situation.

According to Xinhua News Agency, China and Pakistan jointly put forward a five-point initiative, calling for an immediate ceasefire and ensuring the safe shipping of the Strait of Hormuz, and proposing a comprehensive plan for restoring peace and stability in the Gulf and the Middle East region.

On the level of energy mutual assistance, parties are also accelerating their arrangements. India is providing fuel supply to neighboring countries such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. According to Reuters citing internal documents from the Japanese government, a Japan-government-backed oil and gas producer is negotiating with India on a barter agreement in which liquefied petroleum gas is exchanged for naphtha and crude oil.

Trump hints at withdrawal; pressure shifts as allies take over

Although Trump said in his speech that the United States “will provide assistance,” his overall position has already led allies to feel greater pressure to take independent action. A former Japanese diplomat, Masafumi Ishii, said that cooperation with partners whose positions are highly aligned is a prerequisite for moving the process forward; disagreements in the positions of the various parties will make the entire process more complicated.

A former Japanese diplomat and Keio University professor, Koichiro Tanaka, believes that the current situation provides Japan with a window to regain a sense of purpose in diplomacy. Even if Japan does not play an active role, “at least we can maintain some kind of communication channel.”

What is worth noting is that, according to reports, Trump is also weighing a complex and high-risk operation—to seize Iran’s uranium reserves—which adds even more variables to how the situation will unfold.

Analysts: Negotiations may be a stopgap, but long-term constraints still require mechanism-based guarantees

William Klein, who previously served as a U.S. diplomat for more than twenty years, said that negotiations with Iran over shipping matters might serve as a temporary solution, but no country wants to see one country—especially Iran—control the Strait of Hormuz indefinitely.

“Many countries may support a ceasefire agreement that allows the strait to reopen, even if Iran in fact retains the ability to exercise control,” the former diplomat, who is currently a partner at FGS Global Berlin consulting, said. “But in the long run, we expect there will be coordinated and consistent measures to set a higher threshold for Iran to use its leverage over the waterway.”

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