Forced Frenemies: Iranian Conflict is Pressuring the US and China Into Maritime Cooperation

Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to international passage and trade, depriving the world of the movement of approximately a fifth of globally produced oil. Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the strait demonstrate the regime’s determination to broadly retaliate against the international community for the joint, American-Israeli attack, known as Operation Epic Fury, which began on February 28, 2026. Now, President Trump is not only calling on NATO allies to assist American military forces to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for business, but he’s making a rare call on China to assist as well.

Closing the Strait is not simply a reactive, defensive countermeasure by an attacked Iranian regime, but a series of offensive strikes targeting international trade and every country that relies on the Strait of Hormuz to receive shipments of oil and other products sourced through the Persian Gulf. Seventeen non-military ships have reportedly been attacked by Iran in both the Strait of Hormuz and the greater Persian Gulf. Exports of all kinds, not just oil, travel through the Strait from countries like the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Oman– all of whom have been attacked by Iran since the conflict began in late February.

Various insurance companies are unwilling to take the risk of insuring commercial vessels that intend necessary passage through the Strait because of the high risk of Iranian attack, leaving many vessels of various origin currently stranded in the Persian Gulf.

Under Chapter II of the Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (ARSIWA), countermeasures taken in response to an internationally wrongful act may only be used against the responsible State, and they cannot constitute the use of force. Even if Iran claimed that the closing the Strait of Hormuz was a countermeasure to American and Israeli violations of UN Charter. Art. 2(4), the prohibition on the use of force, Iranian action is still resulting in the instantaneous economic dwarfing of Middle Eastern countries that rely on commercial passage through the Strait. Further, the use of sea mines surely violates ARSIWA’s provision that uses of force are not countermeasures.

Iran has recently sent sea mines into the strait to enforce its closure. Various types of mines– like drifting, moored, and bottom mines– could present a large, generalized problem for commercial travel through the strait for not just weeks and months, but years to come. At its shallowest, the strait is only 200 feet deep, meaning a mine hidden beneath the surface could do catastrophic damage to any unsuspecting vessel. This could result in mine damage far outlasting even the current Iranian conflict, making the Strait even more physically dangerous for military forces, and an extended liability for the conducting of international business through the Persian Gulf and surrounding waterways.

Despite both commercial and physical threat all countries navigating through the Strait face because of Iranian closure, NATO countries have rejected President Trump’s request that they assist American forces in escorting commercial vessels to keep the passageway to Middle Eastern oil open and functional. China’s reason for denying Trump’s request is not because it’s ‘not their war,’ but because they already purchase Iranian oil directly from the source.

However, there are several Chinese vessels currently stuck in the Persian Gulf due to the difficulty of passage, despite Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi stating that the Strait of Hormuz is still open to all but Iran’s “enemies.” Although China is famously the United States’ largest and most competitive strategic partner, their interests in free trade from the Persian Gulf and assured safety of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz for years to come is aligned with our national interest. Most of the oil produced and moved through the Strait of Hormuz goes to Asia as a whole. China itself imports 40% of its oil and nearly a third of its natural gas from the Persian Gulf and the Middle Eastern countries that trade through the strait.

If the Chinese were to step in and assist the U.S. in policing the Strait of Hormuz, it wouldn’t be the first time that the two countries have coordinated on an issue of maritime security that was mutually beneficial to both nations. Both U.S. and Chinese vessels had been targeted repeatedly by Somalian pirates off the coast of the Horn of Africa, and the countries have since participated in joint anti-piracy efforts.

The violation of the customary law of freedom of navigation by Iran will catch up with all major global traders, even China, if it is allowed to cut off the Middle Eastern oil trade. Global oil prices have already skyrocketed since Iran began attacking tankers and non-military vessels in the Strait. Based on President Trump’s request for help and the speculated aligned economic interests between China and the US, we might see a rare coordination the two world powers in the name of free trade and cheap oil.

Article Written by Presley Baker

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