China has called for unhindered flow of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The call came as leading European powers are apparently accepting that vessels will have to pay fees to Iran and Oman.
The country’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Guo Jiakun, who announced tge call on Friday at a regular press briefing in Beijing, said “resuming safe and unimpeded passage in the strait at an early date serves the interests of all parties.
“A proper settlement is needed to address disruption at the Strait of Hormuz, and the shared concerns in the international community need a proper response.” Bloomberg News report cited close sources as saying that prospect of some sort of service fee in the aftermath of the US and Israeli war with Iran was a given.
According to the report, while some Gulf Arab officials hold the same view, they privately believe that the initiative is not necessarily the formal position of their governments.
However, it is yet not clear what type or amount of fees any nation would be willing to accept. The US and Gulf Arab countries continue to insist Iran and Oman cannot impose charges of any kind for Hormuz.
Their concerns include the risk it creates a precedent for other countries to impose fees on different waterways. As the world’s largest oil and gas importer, China is among the countries most exposed to tensions in the Middle East.
The Asian nation depends on the wider Persian Gulf region for both oil and gas supplies, and cargoes of both require transit through the narrow Hormuz waterway.
