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According to a report by Japan's Kyodo News Agency on the 18th, Italian Defense Minister Crosetto said that as China strengthens its maritime activities in the Indo-Pacific region, Italy will "make contributions" to ensure freedom of navigation in the region. In late August, the Italian aircraft carrier "Gavril" will dock in Japan for the first time and hold joint training with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Foreign media have reported that more and more NATO member states are sending aircraft carriers and warships to the Pacific region. Experts interviewed by the Global Times said that this reflects that the US-led NATO is looking for a sense of presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to Kyodo News, the Cavour will dock at the Yokosuka Maritime Self-Defense Forces Base in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Crosetto will also visit Japan during the same period to strive to deepen cooperation in the defense field such as the development of next-generation fighter jets among Japan, Italy and the United Kingdom. The report also stated that the Japanese and Italian governments agreed in June to launch negotiations on the "Mutual Provision of Materials and Services Agreement" between the Self-Defense Forces and the Italian Army. Crosetto looks forward to the success of the negotiations and expressed his intention to promote further exchanges with the Self-Defense Forces. The report also stated: "In recent years, Italy has sent fighter jets and warships to Japan to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific region."

On the 11th of this month, the Cavour aircraft carrier battle group arrived at the U.S. military base in Guam. Prior to this, the U.S. Navy and the Italian Navy held their first bilateral military exercise in the Indo-Pacific region on the 9th.

File photo of the Italian aircraft carrier "Gaviota" taken from the US Navy's "Lincoln" aircraft carrier. Source: foreign media

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, said in an interview with the Global Times on the 19th that this move not only reflects the adjustment of the security and defense policies of Italy and Japan, but also reflects that NATO member states are "implementing" NATO's Asia-Pacificization in accordance with the 2022 NATO new strategic concept document and a series of spirits of the recent NATO summit.

Bloomberg reported that the Cavour is the latest NATO aircraft carrier to join the military deployment in the Western Pacific. In addition, the British HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier battle group is expected to arrive in the Pacific next year, and France has stated that it will send the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier battle group to the Pacific. NATO member states such as Germany and the Netherlands also plan to deploy warships to the region.

Regarding the deployment in the Pacific, Giancarlo Ciampina, commander of the Cavour aircraft carrier battle group, said: "This is to demonstrate NATO's ability to project military power anywhere."

"NATO countries such as Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom have deployed warships in the Pacific, reflecting the important direction of NATO's activity areas and missions in the new era." Li Haidong believes that NATO is the most important strategic resource and tool for the United States. "How NATO plays a role, where it plays a role, and in what way to maximize its functions are mainly determined by the United States. The United States has made strategic competition with China the core focus of its overall strategy, and it needs NATO countries to play a corresponding role in its response to the geopolitical strategic competition with China."

Bloomberg News quoted experts as saying that the US is currently trying to resolve crises in Ukraine, Israel and the Red Sea while keeping a close eye on China in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, and its naval power is already seriously stretched. "The US's Asia-Pacific allies can help fill the gap, and in recent years, countries such as Japan have established closer ties with NATO."

Li Haidong said that NATO's Asia-Pacificization and the regional tensions it has caused will lead to more serious conflicts, and "countries around the world should remain vigilant and resist this."

Source: Global Times