Britain Open to Gulf Aid Call

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said Friday that Britain would consider any formal request from the United States to help protect merchant shipping in the Persian Gulf.

Speaking at an election campaign news conference in London, Thatcher said Britain has two or three navy ships in the area but that their primary responsibility is to protect British shipping.

“I am not aware of any formal request from the United States (for help in protecting ships), “ she said. “If we did get one, we would, of course, consider it. It is vital that this shipping highway be kept open.”

The Reagan Administration plans to protect Kuwaiti tankers with U.S. escorts, and it has been informally encouraging its allies to help protect shipping from attacks during the Iran-Iraq War.

In Tokyo, meanwhile, Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and Foreign Minister Tadashi Kuranari said they are willing to discuss gulf security at a summit of seven leading industrialized nations next month in Venice, where President Reagan is expected to appeal for allied help.

However, they told reporters that Japan’s peace constitution forbids it to deploy its forces overseas. Nakasone said his government could offer neither money nor troops to protect ships in the gulf. He added that Washington understands Japan’s constitutional restraints and has not officially asked for any military help.

Japan imports nearly 60% of its crude oil, about 2 million barrels per day, through the Strait of Hormuz at the end of the gulf.