India has not held bilateral talks with US on naval deployment in Strait of Hormuz: MEA

India has not held bilateral discussions with the United States about deploying naval forces to ensure the safe passage of merchant vessels through the Strait of Hormuz amid the West Asia conflict, the Union government said on Monday.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made the statement during a media briefing.

The statement came in response to a question about a call by United States President Donald Trump for countries such as China, France, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom to send warships to keep the strategically important waterway “open and safe”.

“We are aware of this particular matter being discussed by several countries,” Jaiswal said. “We have not yet discussed it in a bilateral setting.”

On Sunday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Financial Times that India’s direct talks with Iran had “yielded some results” in allowing Indian ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, though there was no blanket arrangement with Tehran for their passage.

He added: “From India’s perspective, it is better that we reason and we co-ordinate and we get a solution than we don’t…So if that sort of allows other people to engage, I think the world is better off for it.”

Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz for most international commercial vessels amid the conflict in West Asia began on February 28. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

The International Energy Agency on Thursday said that the fighting has caused the “largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market”.

Global oil prices have surged since the conflict began. The benchmark Brent crude oil price has crossed the $100 per barrel-mark. The price was about $72.8 per barrel on February 27, a day before the conflict began.

Also read: Can propaganda on Iran allowing Indian ships hide Modi government’s failure to secure gas supply?