Jakarta. Indonesia has refused to dispatch its military personnel to back the UK and France-led proposal of forming a multinational mission to safeguard the commercial shipping route in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has been blocking ships from entering or exiting the maritime route to retaliate against the US-Israeli airstrikes in late February. Just last week, leaders of 51 countries gathered in a virtual summit on the Hormuz passage. Co-chairs UK and France floated a plan to set up a “strictly defensive” mission to protect merchant vessels along the waterway.

They also claimed that some nations were willing to provide military assets. Foreign Minister Sugiono, who joined the summit, acknowledged that the forum did discuss this naval coalition. Asked whether Jakarta would contribute troops, Sugiono quickly dismissed the possibility.

“The [mission] was being discussed at the conference. But we [Indonesia] must not be involved. It will violate our neutral stance. It goes against our ‘free and active’ [policy],” Sugiono told reporters in Jakarta on Thursday.

Indonesia has long chosen to avoid aligning with any country or military bloc.

Amid Jakarta’s refusal to be on board, two Indonesian tankers have spent almost two months stuck in the Persian Gulf. Their only way out is via the Strait of Hormuz.

Sugiono also clarified the recent fee fiasco that started with Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa’s controversial statement. The latter half-jokingly suggested that Indonesia copy Iran’s move by slapping a levy on ships transiting the Strait of Malacca. This strategic waterway is also bounded by ASEAN neighbors Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.

According to Sugiono, a levy on the Malacca transit would be illegal under the decades-old maritime treaty UNCLOS.

“As an archipelagic state, we must respect international law: the UNCLOS. This law recognizes Indonesia as an archipelagic state, provided that we do not impose levies [on transiting ships],” Sugiono said.

A joint statement by the UK and French governments claimed that the multinational mission had gained ground, with countries indicating readiness to provide support not limited to military assets but also to logistics, cash, and political backing. The military plans also await a sustainable ceasefire agreement.

“[We] call on all countries with an interest in the free flow of global trade to express their support for this initiative,” the statement reads.

London had convened a two-day meeting that brought together military planners from dozens of countries. Iran had said reopening the Strait of Hormuz would be impossible as long as the US naval blockade remained in place. Their standoff has caused crude prices to soar as large volumes of oil flow through the strait. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, had climbed to above $106 per barrel on Friday.