Japan and South Korea deploy joint naval escort fleet for Hormuz oil transits

Japan and South Korea announced a joint naval task force to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first combined military operation by the two nations since World War II. Both countries import over 90% of their crude, and most of it passes through Hormuz. Rising insurance costs and Iran’s crypto tolls have made civilian transits untenable without armed protection. The task force will operate alongside U.S. Fifth Fleet and Chinese PLA(N) escort vessels already in the waterway. Four navies now share a shipping lane narrower than the English Channel, each protecting its own energy supply. The chances of a miscalculation are not trivial. Neither is the cost of doing nothing.