I'm John Batchel with Bill Rajo Foundation for Defense of Democracy.

We're discussing the Iran war from the

point of view of Europe. Now I turn to Asia because we're told there is a pending decision to be made,

whether the president will be able to attend the long-established meeting between the president

of People's Republic of China and Donald Trump to discuss tariffs and

international trade. That is not now fixed. In addition, Japan is due into the White House later this

week in the form of the new Prime Minister, Takichi Sunai, and Japan has now voiced its reluctance

to send military help to the Strait of Hormuz.

We also have Korea and we have Taiwan and we have the Philippines,

all of which are part of the chain that must have oil out of the Middle East.

This is not a maybe.

They do not enjoy the riches of oil and natural gas that the U.S. does.

So, Edmund, I come to you on this, only because the whole world is watching, the resolution of this.

It would appear there's no plan B, unless I've missed something in the reading of the newspapers these last days.

It's called Donald Trump's war, and it said that he miscalculated,

and along the lines that you've already established, how could they have not known about the

Strait of Hormuz? I had a colleague tell me that taking a question from an audience in

Easternmost Hungary last week, a schoolteacher stood up and said, didn't they think about

the Strait of Armuse? So I'm not putting down school teachers. I'm just saying that's a

well-read lady, but who isn't well-read about that? So about Asia, what choice do they have,

Edmund? They don't have an alternative source. No, it's very tricky.

And, you know, essentially the global economy is being held hostage by Iran in this area.

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