Manama, June 25 (SANA) U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on Thursday that charging ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz may undermine the precept of freedom of navigation and set a precedent for comparable measures in different worldwide waterways.
Talking at a Gulf Cooperation Council assembly in Bahrain, Rubio stated permitting international locations to impose transit charges on vessels passing via worldwide waterways due to their geographic location may encourage comparable actions elsewhere, disrupting international commerce.
“Worldwide waterways don’t belong to any single nation,” Rubio stated, including that preserving freedom of navigation is crucial to the steadiness of world delivery and commerce.
Rubio stated abandoning that precept may create uncertainty for worldwide maritime transport and have wider penalties for international commerce.
On June 21, U.S. President Donald Trump stated no transit charges could be imposed on vessels utilizing the Strait of Hormuz throughout the short-term ceasefire with Iran or afterward. He added, nevertheless, that Washington may think about measures affecting passage via the strategic waterway if negotiations with Tehran fail.
R.D/ABD
