Unsurprisingly, Trump's "demand" that other countries (like China, Japan, South Korea, France and the UK) help police the Strait of Hormuz is falling on deaf ears.
"I'm demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their own territory", quoth he. Well, no it's not, actually. The Strait, which is as narrow as 20 miles (32km) at one point, is technically an "international strait" within the meaning of Article 37 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It is bordered by Iran on one side and Oman on the other. Iran does not legally own the Strait, but it can effectively control it based on its physical proximity. However, it definitely does not belong to the USA, China or any other country that may happen to use it or want it.
Trump, whose "most powerful miltary in the world" seems to be struggling to assert control in the region, wants to drag other countries into his unilateral war. But, wisely, no-one is biting. Just because Trump has bitten off more than he can chew doesn't mean that everyone else should come flocking to his aid - quite the contrary. He needs to learn not to go around imperilling world trade and security based on little more than a whim and delusions of grandeur.
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