Japan and Italy’s rapidly intensifying military engagement is already paying dividends as the partners boost interoperability and exchange operational information, including on the deployment of F-35B carrier-based fighter aircraft, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said in an exclusive interview.
“We are talking about ships and aircraft from different countries preparing to operate, should the need arise, as if they were all part of the same force,” Crosetto told The Japan Times on Monday, noting that the drive for greater interoperability between the partners’ armed forces has become “crucial” to bolstering regional deterrence.
“It has become more difficult for any country to defend its strategic interests alone, except maybe for the United States, but we are now forging a path to enable like-minded nations to work closer together and thus make it easier to defend those interests,” Crosetto said on the sidelines of an event in Tokyo featuring the Italian Navy’s cadet training tall ship Amerigo Vespucci, which was visiting the Japanese capital as part of a world tour.
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