March 15 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump warned Nato that its future would be “very bad” if allies do not help open the Strait of Hormuz and said he might also postpone a planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Financial Times said in a commentary on Sunday.
“I think China should help, too, because 90 percent of China’s oil comes from the strait,” Trump told the newspaper, adding that he wanted to know Beijing’s position before planning a visit.
“We may postpone it,” he said of the trip.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng concluded Sunday the first of two days of talks in Paris to resolve issues in a trade truce and clear the way for Trump to travel to Beijing in late March to meet Xi Jinping.
The US president said countries that benefit from the route should help ensure its safety.
He told the Financial Times: “It’s only appropriate that people who are beneficiaries of the Strait should help ensure that nothing bad happens there.”
Trump on Saturday called on countries to send warships to keep the narrow waterway open to traffic as Iranian forces continue to launch attacks on Iran after the United States and Israel launched attacks. He expressed hope that countries including China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom would send warships to the area.
Asked to specify the aid he wanted, Trump told the Financial Times it could include minesweepers and other military assets to counter drones and mines.
“We’re hitting them very hard,” Trump said of the Iranian military, according to the Financial Times. “They can do nothing but cause a little trouble in the Strait…These are the people who are the beneficiaries, and they should be helping us regulate.”
Iran effectively closed the strait after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran more than two weeks ago. About a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman.
Trump also warned Washington of the possibility of further attacks on Khargah Island, Iran’s main oil export hub, and said the U.S. military could target its oil infrastructure if necessary.
“We can do this in five minutes,” he said. “There’s nothing they can do about it.”
Trump also criticized Britain’s response after speaking to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“Britain is probably considered the number one ally… when I asked them to come, they didn’t want to come,” Trump told the Financial Times, adding that Britain only offered to send the ships after the United States had already weakened Iran’s military capabilities.
The White House and China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
(Reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham and Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogg and Deepa Babington)