Donald Trump has again accused Australia of refusing to help the US in the Strait of Hormuz, but the Australian government maintains there has been no formal request for help from the US.

Mr Trump made the comments in response to reporters’ questions outside the White House, but he did not directly answer when asked what exactly he wanted Australia to do.

“I’m not happy with Australia because they were not there when we asked them to be there,” Mr Trump said.

“They were not there, having to do with Hormuz, the Hormuz strait.”

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Mr Trump also did not directly address questions about Australia’s decision to lift defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP — a level that falls short of the 3.5 per cent requested by the Trump administration.

The US president has now been complaining for weeks about Australia’s lack of support in the Strait of Hormuz. The critical shipping route was declared closed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard after the US attacked Iran in February, and is now subject to a US blockade of Iranian ports.

This month, Mr Trump made similar criticisms of Australia and other allies — including Japan, South Korea and NATO — at a White House press briefing. 

“You know who else didn’t help us? Australia didn’t help us,” he said.

In March, while criticising allies during a cabinet meeting, Mr Trump said “Australia was not great” and he “was a little surprised by Australia”. 

Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who is in Washington for talks with global counterparts, said the US and Australia were still working well together.

“When it comes to the commitment in the Strait of Hormuz, as far as I’m aware, there hasn’t been a formal request from the Americans along those lines,” he said.

Later, Defence Minister Richard Marles said Australia had “not received a specific request in relation to the Strait of Hormuz, but we’ll work with all of our partners, our allies, and that very much includes the United States, in terms of whatever needs to be done in relation to the Strait of Hormuz”.

Shadow Defence Minister James Paterson said it was “unfortunate” to hear Australia and the US contradicting one another.

“President Trump has now repeatedly said there have been requests, so my question is: What has the prime minister done to clarify this with President Trump?” he told Radio National.

Meanwhile, Australia is preparing for what could be a protracted fuel supply crisis as oil tankers remain unable to cross the Strait of Hormuz.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced purchases of 100 million litres of diesel from Brunei and South Korea.

In a later interview with the ABC, he foreshadowed further deals as a result of talks with Indonesia.

Australia will also take part in a summit, hosted by the UK and France, to discuss efforts to safeguard shipping in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, Paris time.

But Mr Marles said “any particular operation” in the Strait of Hormuz could only happen “when circumstances allow”.

“We need to wait for that, but we will be seeking to contribute in whatever is the best way that we can,” he told ABC News Breakfast.