By David Brunnstrom and John Irish
April 6 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote on Tuesday on a resolution to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, but in significantly watered-down form after veto-wielding China opposed authorizing force, diplomats said.
Oil prices have surged since the U.S. and Israel struck Iran at the end of February, unleashing a conflict that has run for more than five weeks and seen Tehran largely close the Strait, a vital energy artery.
Efforts
by Bahrain, the current chair of the 15-member Council, to secure a resolution have involved multiple drafts seeking to overcome opposition from China, Russia and others. The latest iteration, seen by Reuters, drops any explicit authorization of the use of force.
Instead the text, "strongly encourages States interested in the use of commercial maritime routes in the Strait of Hormuz to coordinate efforts, defensive in nature, commensurate to the circumstances, to contribute to ensuring the safety and security of navigation across the Strait of Hormuz."
It says such contributions could include "the escort of merchant and commercial vessels," and the text also endorses efforts "to deter attempts to close, obstruct or otherwise interfere with international navigation through the Strait of Hormuz."
Diplomats said the watered-down version had a better chance of passing, but it remained unclear if it would succeed. It requires at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes from the five permanent members, Britain, China, France, Russia and the U.S.
Bahrain, which has been backed in its efforts by other Gulf Arab states and Washington, issued a draft last Thursday that would have authorized "all defensive means necessary" to protect commercial shipping, but votes on this were postponed on Friday and Saturday.
Bahrain had previously dropped an explicit reference to binding enforcement.
Last Thursday, China opposed a resolution authorizing force, saying this would be "legitimizing the unlawful and indiscriminate use of force, which would inevitably lead to further escalation of the situation and lead to serious consequences."
Iran said on Monday it wanted a lasting end to the war, and pushed back against pressure to reopen the Strait, while U.S. President Donald Trump warned the country could be "taken out" if it did not meet his Tuesday night deadline to reach a deal.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday after speaking to his Russian counterpart that China was willing to continue to cooperate with Russia at the Security Council and make efforts to calm the Middle East situation.
Wang said the fundamental way to resolve the Strait issue was to achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible. China is the world's largest buyer of oil moving through the Strait.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington and John Irish in Paris; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
