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China's maritime vulnerability begins at the Strait of Hormuz rather than the Strait of Malacca, creating a new arena of strategic competition in the Indian Ocean among Beijing, India, France and the US, according to a report by the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies. Released ahead of the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue security summit that opened in Singapore on Friday, the report says the Indian Ocean Region is re-emerging as a key strategic theatre after decades of relative calm following the end of the Cold War. The report, titled "Asia Pacific Regional Security Assessment", argues that China's dependence on energy supplies moving through the Indian Ocean has made the region increasingly important to Beijing's security calculations, while also exposing vulnerabilities that rival powers could seek to exploit during a conflict. The study examines strategic competition around major maritime choke points linking the Middle East and Asia, with particular focus o
Projectiles struck a ship in the narrow Strait of Hormuz, the British military said Monday, the second such attack in hours as tensions remain high between Iran and the United States. The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center issued the alert, saying a tanker had been targeted off Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, in the strait around 11:40 pm Sunday. It described the tanker has been struck by "unknown projectiles." "All crew reported safe," the centre said. "No environmental impact reported." Another ship came under attack in the strait on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump said the US Navy will start guiding foreign stranded ships to safety through the Strait of Hormuz from Monday and warned Iran that any interference in the process would be dealt with forcefully. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said 'Project Freedom' was aimed at helping foreign ships that are locked up in the Strait of Hormuz as "innocent bystanders" and in no way involved in the developments in West Asia. Trump said several of these ships were running low on food, drinking water and everything else necessary for large-scale crews to stay onboard in a healthy and sanitary manner. At the same time, the US President said that his representatives were having positive discussions with Iran, which could lead to something "positive for all". The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow sea route between Oman and Iran that transports one-fifth of the global oil supplies, has been effectively closed since February 28, when the US and Israel launched the war with Iran. The U
After US President Donald Trump and Iran's foreign minister said the Strait of Hormuz was fully open to commercial vessels after almost seven weeks of war, oil prices plunged 10 per cent and the stock market rallied Friday. Motorists, hoping for relief at the pump, wondered how quickly gasoline prices might fall once oil tankers stuck in the Persian Gulf were moving again. A gallon of regular gasoline cost USD 4.08 on average in the US Friday, which was 37 per cent more than before US and Israel attacked Iran but down a few cents from a week ago. But when gas prices spike, they do not typically drop as quickly as the cost of crude. Even if Iran keeps the waterway open in the face of a US blockade of its vessels, it still could take months for fuel prices to return to levels resembling those enjoyed before the war began February 28, energy experts said. The slow speed at which oil tankers travel from ports to refineries, lingering security concerns, traffic in the strait and damage t
President Donald Trump has expressed confidence ahead of talks between the United States and Iran on a resolution to the conflict, expected to start Saturday in Islamabad, with Vice President J D Vance leading the US delegation. "I wished him luck. He's got a big thing," Trump said in his parting message to Vance before he began his journey to lead the president's delegation for the critical talks. "We'll find out what's going on. They're militarily defeated." Trump, who spoke to reporters before boarding Air Force One to head to a Friday evening fundraiser in Charlottesville, Virginia, also reiterated his confidence that the Strait of Hormuz will soon be opened up. "And now we're going to open up the Gulf with or without them," Trump said, referring to the Iranians, who have effectively shuttered the critical waterway. "But that'll be open," he said.