Catherine King, Matt Thistlethwaite: Australia rejects naval role in Strait of Hormuz amid Iran tanker threats

Australia has ruled out sending ships to the Middle East to help protect vessels from Iranian attacks while travelling through the Strait of Hormuz.

It comes after US President Donald Trump called on several other countries to send ships to help open the critical waterway to ease the global oil supply disruptions brought on by his war in Iran.

Australia wasn’t listed in Mr Trump’s call to arms on social media, but countries reportedly considering helping include the UK, Japan, China and South Korea. Though, none have publicly announced they would deploy assets.

Labor’s Transport Minister Catherine King and Foreign Affairs and Trade Assistant Minister Matt Thistlethwaite both shut down any suggestion Australia would be joining the assisting Coalition of nations during media appearances on Monday.

“We’ve been very clear about what our contribution is in relation to our requests, and so far that is to the UAE, obviously providing aircraft to assist with defence, particularly given the number of Australians that are in that area in particular,” Ms King told Radio National.

“But we won’t be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz. We know how incredibly important that is. That’s not something that we’ve been asked, or we’re contributing.”

In response to the UAE’s requests, Australia has sent a E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft to the region as well as an undisclosed quantity of advanced medium range missiles, known as AMRAAMs, in a “purely defensive” capacity.

Also asked on Monday if Australia would provide the US help to open the critical shipping channel, Mr Thistlethwaite said agreeing to the UAE requests was “the extent of our involvement”.

“We’ve made a decision to provide support to the United Arab Emirates. That’s the extent of our involvement at the moment,” he told Sky.

“And obviously we’re continuing to monitor the situation. Australia is not directly involved in this conflict.”

Mr Thistlethwaite refused to confirm if the US had already made a formal request for naval support.

Shadow Defence Minister James Paterson has doubted Australia has adequate navy vessels to answer any potential US calls to help in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US President Donald Trump has called on several other countries to send ships to protect vessels from Iranian attacks and help open the critical waterway to ease the global oil supply disruptions.

Senator Paterson told Nine’s Today show on Monday that recent history showed that Australia hadn’t been able to support similar threats to global shipping due to limits within its national fleet.

He referenced the 2023 Red Sea crisis, when commercial shipping vessels had suffered attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Australia had declined a formal request from the then-Biden administration to send ships as part of a US-led multinational coalition called Operation Prosperity Guardian.

“As I understand it, there’s been no request from the United States, and we’re not anticipating one,” Senator Paterson said.

“If one came, we’d have to very carefully consider it against our national interest and particularly whether we have the relevant naval vessels available that could safely do that mission.

“You would need to have a naval vessel that’s capable of protecting itself against drone and missile attacks.

“And in 2023, when a similar request from the United States came to help in the Red Sea against the Houthis terrorist organisation, we weren’t able to provide any naval vessels because we didn’t have ones that could protect themselves that were available for that mission.”

Fellow frontbencher Madeleine King also avoided committing to a naval role when asked on Sky on Monday, instead redirecting to mention the government’s existing support for the UAE.

Defence Minister Richard Marles has confirmed that Australia has previously received requests from the Trump administration to help protect Gulf nations but hasn’t confirmed if it explicitly asked for naval support in the Strait of Hormuz.

Mr Trump has threatened to delay his trip to Beijing and scheduled meeting with President Xi Jinping later this month amid his pressure on China to help in the Strait of Hormuz.

“We may delay,” the president told Financial Times on Sunday, insisting Beijing should clarify its stance before the planned meeting.

Mr Trump warned the NATO alliance of a “very bad future” if member nations refuse to provide military support.

“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” he said.

“If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.

“We didn’t have to help them with Ukraine. … Now we’ll see if they help us.”