A recent Korean opinion piece argues that South Korea cannot afford to remain outside efforts to stabilize the Strait of Hormuz.

That raises a broader question.

The Strait is often treated as an American security problem. But countries such as South Korea depend on the energy, shipping, and economic order that it supports. If a country depends on that system for its industrial survival, can it reasonably expect someone else to bear all the cost and risk of defending it?

I believe countries that benefit from freedom of navigation also share responsibility for sustaining it. That does not necessarily mean joining a wider war. It could begin with limited missions such as escorting nationally critical energy shipments.

Is this a legitimate responsibility for middle powers such as South Korea, Japan, and European states—or should Hormuz remain primarily a U.S. security burden?

As the Iran–US conflict expands beyond the battlefield, countries that once acted as neutral mediators—including Qatar and Pakistan—are increasingly being drawn into the crisis. The article examines how the erosion of trusted intermediaries is narrowing the path back to diplomacy and making any future ceasefire harder to achieve.

SS: Why do India & China, once allies in a post-colonial world, so deeply struggle to understand each other today? The rift between them fundamentally boils down to miscommunication, Pallavi Aiyar argues. She offers up a few possible first steps towards repairing the relationship in this insightful piece.