US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says China ‘not in favour’ of militarizing Hormuz

BEIJING: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that China has indicated it is “not in favour” of militarising the Strait of Hormuz or introducing any tolling mechanism as done by Iran during the course of the conflict in West Asia.

Speaking in an interview with NBC News on Thursday, during US President Trump’s two-day state visit to China, Rubio reiterated Washington’s stance that it is not seeking Beijing’s assistance on Iran-related matters.

“The Chinese side said they are not in favour of militarising the Straits of Hormuz, and they’re not in favour of a tolling system. And that’s our position. We don’t; we will never support an Iranian tolling system in the Straits of Hormuz, nor do we think they have a right to put mines in international waters,” Rubio told NBC News.

His remarks come despite Trump stating that his Chinese counterpart offered to help Washington on the Iran issue, noting that Beijing “would like to see a deal made”.

“President Xi would like to see a deal made. He said, ‘If I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help.’ Anybody that buys that much oil has obviously got some kind of relationship, but he’d like to see the Hormuz Strait open,” Trump said on Friday.

When asked what Trump’s request to Xi Jinping regarding Iran was, Rubio responded that no assistance was sought from Beijing. “He didn’t ask him for anything. We’re not asking for China’s help. We don’t need their help,” he said. (ANI)

Also Read: Marco Rubio says peace deal between Lebanon, Israel ‘eminently achievable’ but ‘not going to be easy’