Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong during Senate Estimates at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on Feb. 27, 2025. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
Australia has confirmed it is engaging with the United States on plans to help stabilise shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, as tensions in the region continue to disrupt global energy flows.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea between Iran and Oman, through which about 20 million barrels of oil typically pass each day.
Ongoing conflict in the Middle East has disrupted shipping through the route, which accounts for about 20 percent of global traffic, leading to instability in the oil markets and higher fuel prices for consumers.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong spoke to media in Seoul during a regional tour that included visits to China and Japan to ensure fuel shipments continue to Australia.
Days earlier, Wong secured an agreement with China to increase the sale of jet fuel to Australia’s aviation sector.
When asked about a document reported by news agency Reuters that claims the Trump administration is seeking support to establish a “Maritime Freedom Construct,” Wong said discussions were ongoing.
“We are working with all of our partners, the United Kingdom, France and the United States,” she said.
“We are engaging on options, noting that we have already provided defensive and diplomatic support to the region.”
Reuters says the proposal had been approved by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and would combine diplomatic efforts with maritime coordination led by the Pentagon to protect shipping lanes and restore global oil flows.
Confirmation of Australia’s involvement in talks comes days after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended a 50-nation summit on freedom of navigation in the Strait, backing efforts to secure a ceasefire in the Middle East.
“Australia stands ready to support efforts to restore stability and security in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said in Sydney on April 18.
The prime minister said the international community had a responsibility to ensure freedom of navigation through the waterway, warning that any attempt to restrict passage would have far-reaching consequences.
“We want to see this fragile arrangement confirmed,” he said.
“The precedent that would be created if a country was allowed to close a navigation strait to international traffic would change the very way that the global economy operates.”
Meanwhile, Iran has signalled the Strait would reopen, although it has repeatedly shifted its position on access.
Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that Iran had indicated it was seeking to reopen the Strait as it managed internal instability, though details of any arrangement remain unclear.
President Trump has previously criticised allies, including Australia, for what he claimed was a lack of involvement in helping reopen the strait, though Australian federal ministers say the U.S. administration had never officially asked.
