Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 1, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 1, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleFrance’s navy chief warns that China’s indirect efforts won’t suffice to restore oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz and may need to engage more directly at both political and military levels. France is pushing for multilateral dialogue, using models like the EU’s Agenor mission, with militaries p
PARIS, April 1 (Reuters) - China will at one point have to engage more directly on how to restore oil traffic flows in the Strait of Hormuz because the number of vessels it has going through is probably insufficient, France's navy chief said on Wednesday.
"We have not seen China’s navy step in to reopen the strait. On the other hand, there is direct political dialogue between Chinese and Iranian authorities to ensure that a certain number of vessels can pass. Will that be enough to restore normal traffic flows? I don’t believe so," Admiral Nicolas Vaujour told the War & Peace security conference in Paris.
"As a result, China will probably have to engage more directly in the debate and show its impatience with the fact that the strait remains closed."
Vaujour said France was working to bring a number of countries around the table at a political level first to determine the conditions under which the strait could be reopened in a lasting way.
Militaries would ultimately be needed to monitor that reopening and they were looking at the model of the previous EU-led Agenor mission that operated in the strait.
He said militaries were also assessing whether mines had been laid and would need to be cleared.
"This is obviously not a question for France alone. It concerns all partner countries, Gulf states, the United States and other European countries as well. But it is clearly an issue we are working on, should mining be confirmed, which, as of today, has not been established," he said.
(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Dominique Vidalon and Daniel Wallis)
The French navy chief stated that China's current level of vessel traffic is insufficient to restore normal oil flows and called for more direct Chinese engagement.
France is working with partner countries to set political conditions for reopening the strait and considering military monitoring, similar to the prior EU-led Agenor mission.
According to the French navy chief, China’s navy has not stepped in militarily, preferring political dialogue with Iran.
Militaries are assessing the situation, but as of now, there is no confirmed evidence that mines have been laid in the strait.
Restoring oil flows through the strait is crucial for global markets due to its importance as a key oil shipping route.
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