Trump grows impatient, inflates USFK numbers to press for Hormuz deployment [U.S.–Iran War]

Donald Trump has been pressing allies to send forces to the Strait of Hormuz, citing figures that do not match the facts. While South Korea and Japan are still reviewing the issue, he voiced frustration after European countries refused to dispatch troops, saying he was "very disappointed."
■ Demanding troop deployments while accusing allies of "free-riding"
According to The Associated Press (AP) and other outlets, Trump at a press conference at the White House in Washington, D.C., on the morning of the 16th (local time) listed countries that import crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz. He said, "Japan takes 95%, China takes 90%. Many European countries also take a substantial amount, and South Korea takes 35%," adding, "So we would like them to come in and help us with respect to this strait." On July 14 he had already used social media to single out South Korea, Japan, China, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), and France, demanding that they send escort warships to break any blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
At the same press conference on the 16th, he stressed, "We have stationed 45,000 great soldiers in some countries and have protected them from danger." Trump went on, "I asked (that country), 'We have protected you for 40 years, and you are saying you will not get involved?' Yet they said they did not want to get involved," criticizing their stance. "We have protected them from terrible external threats, but they were not very enthusiastic," he said, adding, "That level of enthusiasm is important to me."
Later that afternoon, Trump again asserted, "We have 45,000 troops in Japan. We have 45,000 troops in South Korea. We have 45,000 to 50,000 troops in Germany." He said, "We are defending all of these countries," and insisted, "They should not only be grateful to us, they should help us."
Most of the numbers Trump cited that day were wrong. According to the Korea Energy Economics Institute, as of 2024 the dependence on crude oil imports passing through the Strait of Hormuz was 62% for South Korea, 69% for Japan, and 49% for People’s Republic of China (China). As for U.S. troop levels, United States Forces Korea (USFK) stands at 28,500, while U.S. forces in Japan and Germany are about 50,000 and 35,000 respectively.
■ Japan debates dispatch... Europe says "no"
At the press conference on the 16th, Trump said, "We think we will get good help, but we may end up being disappointed in some countries," adding, "I will reveal which countries later." Asked at the National Assembly on the 17th whether the United States had formally requested a troop dispatch, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun replied, "At this point it is very difficult for me to give an answer." He had spoken by phone the previous day with Marco Antonio Rubio of the United States Department of State (DOS).
Ahead of her summit with Trump on the 19th, Japan’s Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae told the House of Councillors of Japan on the 16th that Tokyo was responding to Washington’s request by continuing internal deliberations. "We are issuing various instructions and continuing to examine what Japan can do independently within the existing legal framework," she said. The Asahi Shimbun reported on the 17th, citing officials, that the Japanese government is discussing the possibility of sending the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF).
Europe, by contrast, quickly drew a line. Kaja Kallas, the European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said at a press conference on the 16th that the war with the Islamic Republic of Iran "is not Europe’s war." She referred to the ongoing EU operation in the Red Sea to deter armed groups from the Republic of Yemen and made clear that this mission would not be expanded to the Strait of Hormuz.
On the same day, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz also stated, "As long as the war continues, we will not be involved in guaranteeing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz by military means." He stressed, "It is clear that this war is not an issue for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)."
That day, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer likewise said in a speech that the war with the Islamic Republic of Iran "is not a NATO mission." He declared, "The UK will not allow itself to be drawn into a wider war."
Catherine Vautrin, head of the Ministry of the Armed Forces of France, said in an interview on the 12th, "France has no plans at this stage to send any warships to the Strait of Hormuz." At his press conference on the 16th, Trump remarked, "I am very disappointed in some countries."
pjw@fnnews.com Park Jong-won Reporter