US proposes economic and military measures to ensure freedom of navigation in the Gulf

The US has proposed a number of economic and military measures to ensure freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said this week. Adel Al-Jubeir told Japan Times that the US has reached out to a number of “like-minded countries,” including Japan, regarding options for freedom of navigation in the context of rising tension between Washington and Tehran.

According to Al-Jubeir, experts in those countries are studying the options. “I do not want to go into details, but the main thing is that each country must contribute in one way or another.” The consultations, he added, are ongoing.

“I think Japan has huge interests in the Middle East… Any threat to freedom of navigation in the Gulf would have an impact not only on Japan, but also on the global economy,” the minister pointed out. “It’s not an alliance. The whole world has a stake in keeping the principle of freedom of navigation.”

The newspaper explained that if Tokyo received a request to contribute militarily to a joint force in the Gulf, it would spark much debate. Japan, it noted, has a “pacifist, war-renouncing Constitution.”

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