By Benjamin Cuaresma (Via Foreign Sources)
ROME — Italy is moving to strengthen its military and strategic presence in the Indo-Pacific, with Rome preparing additional naval deployments to Japan as concern grows over China’s expanding maritime activities and mounting tensions across the region.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Italy intends to consolidate its Indo-Pacific engagement while deepening defense and security cooperation with Japan, underscoring Rome’s growing recognition of the region as a critical theater for international security.
A senior Italian naval patrol ship is scheduled to visit Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo, in September, marking another step in Italy’s expanding military engagement with Japan.
Italy has increasingly participated in efforts supporting freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific. In 2024, it deployed its flagship aircraft carrier Cavour to Japan for the first time, signaling Rome’s willingness to project naval capabilities well beyond the Mediterranean.
Tajani said the Indo-Pacific has assumed increasing strategic importance not only for Italy but for the broader international community.
Without naming China as the sole focus of Italy’s policy, Tajani made clear Rome opposes any attempt to alter the regional status quo through force or coercion, particularly in the Taiwan Strait and the East and South China seas.
The position places Italy alongside a growing number of European and Indo-Pacific partners expressing concern over the use of military pressure to settle territorial and security disputes in waters vital to global trade.
Italy’s expanding security partnership with Japan is also being reinforced by cooperation in advanced industries.
The two countries, which are marking 160 years of diplomatic relations this year, are strengthening ties in strategic sectors including semiconductors and space technology.
Tajani said Rome envisions an economic and strategic network extending from the Mediterranean across the Middle East and India and onward to the Far East — a corridor that would give Italy a broader role in the rapidly evolving Indo-Pacific economic and security architecture.
Italy is also a major partner in the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), the next-generation fighter development project involving Japan, Italy and Britain.
Canada joined the program as an observer in July, raising the possibility of broader international participation. Tajani said Italy remains open to potential partners, including Germany, but emphasized that any expansion must preserve the project’s momentum and existing governance structure.
The strengthening of Italy-Japan defense relations comes as European powers increasingly seek a larger role in maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific, particularly as China expands its naval operations and asserts increasingly forceful claims in disputed waters.
Tajani also sought to dispel concerns that Italy’s relationship with the United States has suffered a serious rupture despite criticism from US President Donald Trump over Rome’s refusal to participate in the US military campaign against Iran.
“There is no rift,” Tajani said, stressing that even close allies may pursue their own national interests when making major foreign-policy decisions.
At the same time, he said Italy is prepared to participate in international efforts to protect commercial shipping and ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important maritime chokepoints.
Italy’s planned deployment to Japan therefore carries significance beyond a single port visit.
It reflects Rome’s broader effort to transform its Indo-Pacific policy from diplomatic engagement into a sustained strategic presence — linking European security interests with the defense of open sea lanes and a rules-based regional order.
ia/xf
