Guaranteeing security in the
Indo-Pacific region to safeguard Italy's interests in a
strategic area of the world was the message launched by Defence
Minister Guido Crosetto during his visit to Tokyo to mark the
arrival of the Amerigo Vespucci, the historic sailing and
training ship of the Italian Navy, and the opening of Villaggio
Italia, an international exhibition that brings together
national excellence.
"In addition to the Vespucci, there is the Italian aircraft
carrier Cavour, with on board the planes of the Italian Air
Force and Navy, Italian frigate Alpino and the Montecuccoli",
the multipurpose offshore patrol ship, Crosetto told a briefing
with local media.
"There is an entire system of the Italian Navy taking part in
drills in the Indo-Pacific, they were carried out first in
Australia, now in Japan, to show how important the Indo-Pacific
is for Italy from a defence and security standpoint, and how
these can be maintained, like peace, only through collaboration
between great nations.
"And therefore cooperation between Western nations, between
Italy and Japan in this case, is fundamental because they are
elements to guarantee peace and security in the world.
"And the Indo-Pacific is also considered vital for Italy because
we are the fourth largest exporter in the world and much of our
wealth comes from maritime trade.
"Making it safe by cooperating with Japan is an objective we
have set for ourselves, not for today, not for this year, but
for the next decades", noted Crosetto.
The minister went on to say that, in the same direction, the
initiative with Tokyo and Great Britain on the Global Combat Air
Program (GCAP) should be continued to develop a sixth-generation
stealth fighter, on which questions were raised following the
Labour Party's victory in a general election last month.
"There are decisions that are taken by nations and not by
governments and thus they don't change when a government
changes", the minister told ANSA.
"This is what we were told during my visit and that of the
Japanese minister to London right after the new government was
sworn in.
"There will be a review of the entire defence spending but this
should not affect strategic decisions like the one concerning
GCAP, because it is a choice beyond defence that concerns
technology and the industry", concluded the minister.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
