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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