# US to Start Guiding Ships Through Hormuz, Takaichi Visits Australia

An episode of [Bloomberg Daybreak: Asia Edition](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1663863437), 4 May 2026, 15 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/58e85be7-dbb5-4043-afed-af80014dc0b3/74bd9abb-eff5-4dde-9f6b-b44000181e75/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=27143354-63aa-4ac5-965d-af80014dc0d3

Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific. Markets opened on an optimistic note after President Donald Trump said the US will begin guiding ships not involved in the Iran conflict through the Strait of Hormuz from Monday. However, a senior Iranian official warned that Tehran would consider any US interference in the Strait a ceasefire breach, according to an AFP report. For more on the markets, we heard from Dilin Wu, Pepperstone Research Strategist speaking to Bloomberg's Haidi Stroud-Watts and Shery Ahn. Plus - Japan's prime minister is visiting Australia to strengthen ties with one of her country's strongest allies as she seeks to build on an updated regional strategy laid out in Vietnam. Sanae Takaichi touched down late Sunday local time in Canberra for the three-day visit, which will focus on defense, critical minerals and broader economic security. The two countries have grown increasingly concerned about the changing security and economic environment in the region, with Japan taking a more assertive military stance and looking to build economic ties and stable supply chains with nations such as Vietnam. We heard from Tobias Harris, Japan Foresight Founder and Principal speaking to Bloomberg's Haidi Stroud-Watts and Shery Ahn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:02] Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News.
[0:10] Speaker 2: Welcome to the Daybreak Asia podcast. I'm Charlie Pellett. Doug
[0:14] Speaker 2: Prisner has the day off. Asian stocks rose at the open,
[0:17] Speaker 2: Crude oil fluctuated as traders grappled with mixed signals from
[0:21] Speaker 2: the Middle East, while strong corporate earnings kept the tech
[0:25] Speaker 2: sector buoyant. Meantime, President Trump said the US will begin
[0:29] Speaker 2: guiding some neutral ships trapped in the Persian Gulf out
[0:33] Speaker 2: through the Strait of WARMUS beginning Monday. For more on
[0:36] Speaker 2: the markets, we heard from Dylan Wu, research strategist at Pepperstone.
[0:40] Speaker 2: She spoke to Bloomberg's Heidi Stround Watts and Sherry on.
[0:44] Speaker 3: We continue to kind of monitor really any shifts in tones,
[0:48] Speaker 3: any shifting sentiment with regard to this war. In the meantime,
[0:51] Speaker 3: how should investors been positioning given that we know fundamentally
[0:55] Speaker 3: for places like Australia that inflation effect has already taken hold.
[1:01] Speaker 4: Well, thanks for having me so basically from the geopolitical
[1:04] Speaker 4: and we've basically been stuck in the same pattern over
[1:07] Speaker 4: the past few weeks, hope, disappointment and then higher oil.
[1:12] Speaker 4: So the structure issue is that both side have effectively
[1:15] Speaker 4: effectively boxed themselves in, I mean, one on the key
[1:19] Speaker 4: issues around the straight UPMOS reopening a nuclear question, there's
[1:24] Speaker 4: virtually very limited overlap between the two positions, So I
[1:28] Speaker 4: think geopolitical is is really something we can't fully ignore
[1:33] Speaker 4: at the moment. And in regards to the RBA meeting
[1:37] Speaker 4: coming this Tuesday, I think the inflation pressure is still
[1:41] Speaker 4: one of the major concerns from the Australian Monetary Authority,
[1:46] Speaker 4: so we have more than seventy percent of chance to
[1:49] Speaker 4: see another twenty five basis point hike during this meeting.
[1:53] Speaker 4: But the most important question would probably be the see
[1:58] Speaker 4: the last hike in this hiking cycle.
[2:04] Speaker 3: What are you saying when it comes to the winners
[2:06] Speaker 3: out of the geopolitical situation, Obviously the US oil majors
[2:10] Speaker 3: one of them we've seen uh some degree of I
[2:13] Speaker 3: guess neutral impact. When it comes to markets like China,
[2:16] Speaker 3: where are you finding the opportunities?
[2:20] Speaker 4: Well, I think that's obviously a great question. So I
[2:24] Speaker 4: would specifically pay attention to some of the US energy companies,
[2:30] Speaker 4: including Accent Mobile and Cheffrin because of this elevated oil prices,
[2:37] Speaker 4: they are specifically benefits out of the current situation and
[2:42] Speaker 4: any longer Peter term. I think given the geopolical arrests
[2:48] Speaker 4: to continuing the least resistant paths for oil is do
[2:52] Speaker 4: pointing to the upside. And in regards to some of
[2:55] Speaker 4: the other economies like Japan and Korea, I think their
[3:02] Speaker 4: market are currently performing well because of this AI driven
[3:07] Speaker 4: trade or AI driven hype. I would call it like this,
[3:11] Speaker 4: but this geopolitical upheaval and also the high oil price
[3:18] Speaker 4: are always a constraint behind. So I would be cautiously
[3:24] Speaker 4: optimism on the Asian market in general.
[3:29] Speaker 1: Yeah, Dylan, because these constructive calls when it comes to
[3:33] Speaker 1: not just energy because of the geopolitical conflicts, but also
[3:38] Speaker 1: because of the AI infrastructure build out. We have also
[3:41] Speaker 1: seen constructive calls on defense UH sectors as well because
[3:46] Speaker 1: of of course Ukraine, not only the around war. How
[3:49] Speaker 1: stretched are these calls?
[3:53] Speaker 4: Well, I think, you know, like AI plays are really
[3:59] Speaker 4: great and you know, like really prevailing at the moment,
[4:03] Speaker 4: but defensive sector is obviously a cetera that we can't overlook.
[4:08] Speaker 4: So actually I will probably think of a quality Barbell
[4:12] Speaker 4: strategy for my portfolio. So on one side, holding energy,
[4:16] Speaker 4: defense and hard assets. Basically the parts of the market
[4:20] Speaker 4: that can benefit directly from the geopolitical shock higher inflation
[4:25] Speaker 4: and a broader repricing of any kind of res premium.
[4:30] Speaker 4: And on the other side, I'm positioned in the highest
[4:33] Speaker 4: quality cash generated tech ais or tech companies like Apple
[4:39] Speaker 4: and Alphabet, and I probably lean towards reducing disposure in
[4:44] Speaker 4: the middle of the market. That's where I see the
[4:47] Speaker 4: real fragility, rate sensitive sectors and unprofitable growth names that
[4:54] Speaker 4: do depend on you know, easier financing conditions. So in
[4:59] Speaker 4: this kind of emraw, I think that's clearly the weakest link.
[5:03] Speaker 4: So that's probably my my best call at the moment.
[5:08] Speaker 1: Which sector specifically are you talking about when you're talking
[5:11] Speaker 1: about the middle of the market.
[5:14] Speaker 4: Well, I was referring to some of these sectors with
[5:18] Speaker 4: are very sensitive, including maybe some of the major banks
[5:23] Speaker 4: or the banking sector in general, because if we look
[5:26] Speaker 4: back the earnings report of this quarta, some of the
[5:31] Speaker 4: largest banks, including JP Morgan, including you know, Morgan Stanley City,
[5:36] Speaker 4: they are feeling the pressure from high inflation, uh and
[5:41] Speaker 4: the you know, like high interest rates kind of scenario.
[5:47] Speaker 4: So I would be cautiously optimism about these kind of
[5:51] Speaker 4: banking sectors.
[5:54] Speaker 1: Do those calls also reflect what you see across Asia, because,
[5:58] Speaker 1: for example, here in Japan, the expectation that the bog
[6:01] Speaker 1: will continue to high grate, we are seeing a lot
[6:04] Speaker 1: of opportunities around the financial sector.
[6:08] Speaker 4: Well, I think what really stands out this time for
[6:13] Speaker 4: this kind of uh uh intervention is that the intervention
[6:18] Speaker 4: looks much more about defending a specific level rather than
[6:23] Speaker 4: just calming volatility. The one hundred and sixty mark in
[6:28] Speaker 4: dollar yen has clearly become a line in the scent
[6:31] Speaker 4: for Japan's military finance and quite possibly a coordinated focal
[6:36] Speaker 4: point with the US Treasury as well, especially given the
[6:40] Speaker 4: closer forest coordination under Trump's administration and zooming outs like
[6:45] Speaker 4: this intervention are usually better seen as a speed bump
[6:49] Speaker 4: in a border trend, not something that can actually reverse it.
[6:53] Speaker 4: And at the end of the day, midterm for x
[6:56] Speaker 4: Miths are driven by fundamentals Right now, those fun and
[7:00] Speaker 4: tools don't really support stained yan strands. So personally speaking,
[7:05] Speaker 4: I think, yes, like the Bank of Japan may considering
[7:09] Speaker 4: hiking and that could potentially impact the banking SECTUS performance,
[7:14] Speaker 4: But you know, down the road, I'm not specifically bullish
[7:20] Speaker 4: on yen's performance.
[7:22] Speaker 2: That was Dylan Wu, research strategist at Pepperstone, speaking to
[7:25] Speaker 2: Bloomberg's Heidi Stroud, Watts and Sherry on. Welcome back to
[7:36] Speaker 2: the Daybreak Asia podcast. I'm Charlie Padel. Doug Chrisner has
[7:40] Speaker 2: the day off. Japan's Prime Minister sana A Takeichi has
[7:44] Speaker 2: kicked off her three day trip to Australia. The visit
[7:48] Speaker 2: will focus on defense, critical minerals and broader economic security,
[7:52] Speaker 2: with the two countries concerned about the changing security and
[7:56] Speaker 2: economic environment in the region. And for more on the
[7:59] Speaker 2: Japanese Prime Minister's travels, we heard from Tobias Harris, founder
[8:03] Speaker 2: and principal at Japan Foresight. He spoke with Bloomberg's Heidi Stround,
[8:08] Speaker 2: Watts and.
[8:09] Speaker 1: Sherry on Tobia is always good to have you with us.
[8:11] Speaker 1: I mean, Japanese officials have been on a tear just
[8:14] Speaker 1: traveling across Asia, Vietnam, Australia. How significant are these trips
[8:19] Speaker 1: in this geopolitical environment.
[8:23] Speaker 5: Clearly they are using them as a way to articulate,
[8:27] Speaker 5: you know, I think we heard Taichi and Vietnam talking
[8:30] Speaker 5: about resilience, you know, resilient resilience being the key theme
[8:34] Speaker 5: of her new, free and open into Pacific vision. So
[8:37] Speaker 5: clearly I think they see this as a real opportunity
[8:39] Speaker 5: of course for US A seeing defense Minister Koizumi in
[8:41] Speaker 5: Southeast Asian countries, we're seeing just we're seeing form mister
[8:46] Speaker 5: Mortegi's in Africa. Just there's a lot of focus on
[8:48] Speaker 5: the global South, I think at the moment, as it's
[8:50] Speaker 5: buffeted by the impact of the hormones crisis.
[8:54] Speaker 1: When it comes to the Japan Australian relationship, how critical
[8:58] Speaker 1: is it, especially given the ties that when it comes
[9:00] Speaker 1: to defense and also critical minerals.
[9:05] Speaker 5: I think you're going to and we're going to hear
[9:06] Speaker 5: this really, I think today as these meetings get underway,
[9:09] Speaker 5: I mean really, it increasingly feels like Australia. The Japan
[9:13] Speaker 5: Australia relationship, I mean that is Japan's second most important
[9:15] Speaker 5: by nateral relationship after its relationship in the United States.
[9:19] Speaker 5: And of course you know, Australia, you know, sees Japan
[9:21] Speaker 5: is an important partner in its own right. Of course
[9:23] Speaker 5: they have this landmark defense, this arms deal that they've
[9:27] Speaker 5: made that they're going to finally formalize, but also you
[9:30] Speaker 5: know they're important trade partners. They're partners in the CPTVP,
[9:34] Speaker 5: they're important energy partners, and they're going to become closer
[9:37] Speaker 5: partners on economic security. I mean, clearly across the board,
[9:41] Speaker 5: this is just a relationship. Japan doesn't really have a
[9:43] Speaker 5: whole lot that can match the relationship that is really
[9:46] Speaker 5: developed with Australia.
[9:47] Speaker 4: Now.
[9:49] Speaker 3: I found interesting the foreign policy speech when it comes
[9:53] Speaker 3: to the deepening ties in the Indo Pacific, and that's
[9:55] Speaker 3: obviously something that Australia is prioritizing as well, and a
[9:59] Speaker 3: lot of this sort of an unspoken counter to the
[10:02] Speaker 3: influence of Beijing. Right, what do you think are more
[10:05] Speaker 3: assertive Japan in the Indo Pacific looks like, particularly in
[10:10] Speaker 3: terms of potentially being more militarily assertive as well.
[10:16] Speaker 5: Well, it's just just I mean, the biggest difference because
[10:18] Speaker 5: of course, you know, we've seen Japan active in the
[10:20] Speaker 5: region and really trying to play a leadership role, you know,
[10:22] Speaker 5: economically for quite some time, and so in that sense,
[10:26] Speaker 5: you know, we're not really seeing a departure. But the
[10:27] Speaker 5: biggest departure now is of course that the Japanese government
[10:31] Speaker 5: has charting out a new course on arms exports and
[10:35] Speaker 5: using that to facilitate defense cooperation with partners, particularly in
[10:38] Speaker 5: the region, and that is new and it's going to develop,
[10:41] Speaker 5: and they're really going to put a lot of energy
[10:43] Speaker 5: and a lot of money into making that happen. And
[10:45] Speaker 5: so that really is the biggest difference, you know, seeing
[10:47] Speaker 5: you know the announcements of you know, official security assistance agreements,
[10:52] Speaker 5: you know the Philippines, you know with defensive mis records
[10:54] Speaker 5: DOMI and the Philippines and Indonesia. A big part of
[10:57] Speaker 5: that is developing markets for Pan's arms export. So that
[11:01] Speaker 5: really is I think the biggest difference going forward that
[11:03] Speaker 5: Japan is going to be playing this role as a
[11:07] Speaker 5: provider of defense equipment, as a stable friend to countries
[11:12] Speaker 5: in the region that want to strength with their own capabilities,
[11:14] Speaker 5: you know, with many partners who have their own territorial
[11:17] Speaker 5: issues with China as well. So I mean this is
[11:19] Speaker 5: this is a new part of Japan's identity in the region.
[11:21] Speaker 5: But Japan of course has wanted to play a leadership
[11:23] Speaker 5: role in the region for quite some time.
[11:26] Speaker 3: We've got the defense minister in Indonesia and the Philippines
[11:30] Speaker 3: as well, with more of these talks. How much of
[11:32] Speaker 3: an impact do you think does this new defense weapons
[11:36] Speaker 3: strategy from Japan change the kind of Western defense industrial complex,
[11:40] Speaker 3: which we know is under increasing strain with multiple more
[11:45] Speaker 3: complex and expensive wars.
[11:49] Speaker 5: You know, it's going to take time. You know, this
[11:50] Speaker 5: is you know, Japan has talked about wanting to build
[11:53] Speaker 5: up defense industry for a long time. You know, really
[11:56] Speaker 5: only now is coming around to dramatically increasing its ability
[11:59] Speaker 5: to export, which I think is a big part of
[12:01] Speaker 5: increasing its defense industrial base. So I mean, this is
[12:04] Speaker 5: of course a big step in the right direction, but
[12:07] Speaker 5: this is not something that's going to happen overnight. There's
[12:08] Speaker 5: a lot of work to do to make sure one
[12:11] Speaker 5: that Japan has the ability to produce in peace time.
[12:13] Speaker 5: But I think the thing that they're most concerned about
[12:15] Speaker 5: is if Japan were to find yourself in some sort
[12:17] Speaker 5: of protracted conflict, being able to produce under those conditions,
[12:21] Speaker 5: and you know, trying to learn from the circumstances, for example,
[12:24] Speaker 5: that Ukraine has faced over the last few years. This
[12:25] Speaker 5: is very explicitly a part of Tokyo's thinking. You know,
[12:28] Speaker 5: it's the long term production understrained situation rather than just
[12:33] Speaker 5: producing in peace time. And I think that really is
[12:36] Speaker 5: front of mind as far as Tokyo is concerned.
[12:39] Speaker 1: And so Maya. So your earlier point about Japan taking
[12:42] Speaker 1: a stronger leadership role in the region, how will that
[12:44] Speaker 1: sit with Beijing. We know that Japanese officials are also
[12:48] Speaker 1: having these high profile visits to China as well at
[12:51] Speaker 1: the same time.
[12:54] Speaker 5: Yeah, this is interesting to watch because, of course, you know,
[12:57] Speaker 5: we do have this deep freeze between Tokyo and Beijing
[13:00] Speaker 5: and at the official level not really seeing much thaw.
[13:03] Speaker 5: There was this visit this week by one of the
[13:05] Speaker 5: Prime Minister's allies in the l DP. It's not clear
[13:08] Speaker 5: if if he met with any any if there were
[13:12] Speaker 5: any official meetings. It looks like it was just an
[13:14] Speaker 5: industrial visit. There's going to be a business delegation next month,
[13:17] Speaker 5: so there might be signs, you know, of a possible breakthrough.
[13:21] Speaker 5: I mean, it's really too early to say. I mean
[13:23] Speaker 5: in general, though, I mean this pattern of Japan really
[13:26] Speaker 5: trying to strengthen the ability of countries throughout the region
[13:29] Speaker 5: to defend their independence and their sovereignty and their territory there.
[13:32] Speaker 5: This is not a new idea for Japan, but I
[13:35] Speaker 5: think they are really putting a lot more. I guess
[13:37] Speaker 5: you could say muscle behind it. You know, this is
[13:39] Speaker 5: not just you know, we're going to do some passive
[13:42] Speaker 5: capacity building giving some old coast guard ships. I mean,
[13:44] Speaker 5: they really see this now as a new vocation for
[13:48] Speaker 5: Japan and the region. I'm not sure what China can
[13:51] Speaker 5: necessarily do to stop that, but it just shows you
[13:53] Speaker 5: that the stakes of competition between Japan and China in
[13:57] Speaker 5: the region, you know, they're just being kicked up another notch.
[13:59] Speaker 5: I mean, this is just another aspect of a competition
[14:02] Speaker 5: that's been going on for some time now.
[14:04] Speaker 2: Tobias Harris, the founder and principal of Japan Foresight, speaking
[14:08] Speaker 2: to Bloomberg's Heidi Stroud Watts and Sherry On. Thanks for
[14:14] Speaker 2: listening to today's episode of the Bloomberg Daybreak Asia Edition podcast.
[14:19] Speaker 2: Each weekday, we look at the story shaping markets, finance,
[14:23] Speaker 2: and geopolitics in the Asia Pacific. You can find us
[14:26] Speaker 2: on Apple, Spotify, the Bloomberg Podcast YouTube channel, or anywhere
[14:30] Speaker 2: else you listen. Join us again tomorrow for insight on
[14:33] Speaker 2: the market moves from Hong Kong to Singapore and Australia.
[14:38] Speaker 2: I'm Doug Prisoner and this is Bloomberg

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.