ISTANBUL

South Korea's main opposition People Power Party (PPP) said Monday that any decision to dispatch warships to help the US naval forces keep the Strait of Hormuz open would require parliamentary approval, local media reported.

"The issue of deploying our military to a region with a high possibility of involvement in combat would be a grave decision," said Song Eon-seog, the PPP floor leader, during the party's supreme council meeting.

"This is a matter that requires the National Assembly's approval in accordance with the Constitution and relevant laws," Seoul-based Yonhap News quoted Song as saying.

His remarks came as US President Donald Trump called on China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and other countries -- affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran -- to send ships to keep the strait "open and safe" on Saturday as oil prices soar due to the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran and Tehran's retaliatory attacks in the region.

The issue of deploying the Cheonghae naval unit, currently located in the Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy operations, to the Strait of Hormuz would require parliamentary approval, and it would effectively change the original purpose of the unit's deployment, Song noted.

The South Korean Presidential Office on Sunday said that Seoul will "carefully" deliberate its response to Trump's request.

Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz since March 1, following the launch of joint attacks by Israel and the US against Iran on Feb. 28, which have so far killed around 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Hostilities have since escalated.

Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries that are home to US military assets, resulting in casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.

Before the war began, about 20 million barrels of oil passed through the strait daily. Its disruption has pushed up oil prices.