US President Donald Trump has thrown another spanner into an already deeply troubled regional situation by saying that he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory. Whether the remark was meant literally or was simply another provocative statement remains unclear, but its implications are too serious to be dismissed. Coming amid an ongoing tension with Iran, such rhetoric can only deepen mistrust and further escalate an already dangerous situation.
The Strait of Hormuz is not an unclaimed waterway waiting for a new owner. The Strait of Hormuz lies between Iran and Oman, with its northern coast belonging to Iran and its southern coast to Oman. As a strait used for international navigation, however, it is subject to the rules of international maritime law, including the regime of transit passage. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea recognizes the sovereignty and jurisdiction of states bordering such straits while regulating the rights of passage through them. This makes the idea of simply declaring the waterway US territory deeply troubling. The US has long projected itself as an advocate of respect for international law. Any suggestion that the territory or waters of another state can simply be claimed by a powerful country would undermine the very principles Washington has long claimed to uphold. One is, therefore, compelled to ask: is the world being pushed back towards an age when powerful states could simply seize or occupy the territories of other countries at will? The international community cannot afford to normalize such thinking. Whatever disagreements Washington has with Tehran, they cannot provide a basis for changing the territorial status of an internationally important waterway through unilateral declaration. The Strait of Hormuz is vital to global trade and energy supplies. It should remain governed by international law with the rights of its coastal states respected and freedom of navigation protected. Instead of pushing the region and the wider world into greater instability and uncertainty, Washington must engage Iran seriously for a negotiated settlement. Peace, not territorial claims, is what the region urgently needs.
