US struggling to win over allies to protect oil shipping lanes

Allies play hard to get on US proposal to protect oil shipping lanes

July 20, 2019 00:00:00

Members of the US Navy Fifth Fleet prepare to escort journalists to a tanker at a US NAVCENT facility near the port of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates on Friday. The Fifth Fleet protects oil shipping lanes in the Middle East — Reuters

DUBAI/PARIS, July 19 (Reuters): The United States (US) is struggling to win its allies' support for an initiative to heighten surveillance of vital Middle East oil shipping lanes because of fears it will increase tension with Iran, six sources familiar with the matter said.

Washington proposed on July 9 stepping up efforts to safeguard strategic waters off Iran and Yemen where it blames Iran and its proxies for tanker attacks. Iran denies the charges.

But with Washington's allies reluctant to commit new weaponry or fighting forces, a senior Pentagon official told Reuters on Thursday that the United States' aim was not to set up a military coalition but to shine a "flashlight" in the region to deter attacks on commercial shipping.

Because of fears of confrontation, any involvement by Washington's allies is likely be limited to naval personnel and equipment already in place - near the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf and the Bab al-Mandab strait in the Red Sea, two Gulf sources and a British security source said.

"The Americans want to create an 'alliance of the willing' who confront future attacks," a Western diplomat said. "Nobody wants to be on that confrontational course and part of a US push against Iran."

Addressing such concerns or possible misunderstandings, Kathryn Wheelbarger, one of the most senior policy officials at the Pentagon, told Reuters in an interview that the new initiative was "not about military confrontation."

Under Washington's proposal, the United States would provide coordinating ships and lead surveillance efforts while allies would patrol nearby waters and escort commercial vessels with their nation's flags.

Iran has said foreign powers should leave securing shipping lanes to Tehran and other countries in the region.

France, which has a naval base in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), does not plan to escort ships and views the US plan as counterproductive to easing tensions because Tehran would see it as anti-Iran, a French official said.