Italian Naval fleet joins Australia in war games, prepares for Philippines tour
- Italian carrier strike group, Cavour, will sail through the South China Sea to the Philippines.
- The Italian aircraft carrier is participating in Exercise Pitch Black.
- The strike group will travel to the US Pacific territory of Guam and Japan after the exercises conclude on August 2.
On Thursday, a senior Italian navy official announced that an Italian carrier strike group, on its first deployment to the Indo-Pacific region, will sail through the South China Sea to the Philippines after participating in war games with US allies in Australia.
Amid rising tensions between China and some of its neighbors in the contested South China Sea region, nations such as the United States, Japan, Australia, and others have conducted joint maritime exercises asserting freedom of navigation. These exercises occur in a region through which about 40 percent of Europe’s foreign trade flows. China claims almost the entire strategic waterway.
This week, the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour is in the northern Australian town of Darwin, participating in Exercise Pitch Black. Italy is contributing nearly two dozen fighter jets to the 20-nation drills hosted by Australia. The United States, Britain, Japan, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea are also participating.
Italian Navy Rear Admiral Giancarlo Ciappina said it is the first time an aircraft carrier has joined the exercises. Twenty-three Italian jets, including eight stealthy F-35Bs, are conducting dogfights, strikes, and other operations alongside their allies over vast expanses of largely unpopulated land in northern Australia.
“Pitch Black gives us a chance to work with the main F-35 communities, shoulder to shoulder,” said Captain Dario Castelli, the strike group’s carrier air wing commander. “In terms of deploying far from home, it is also an incredible logistics exercise for us.”
Ciappina said that after the current exercises conclude on August 2, the 1,200-person strong Italian carrier strike group will travel to the US Pacific territory of Guam and Japan, before transiting the South China Sea to the Philippines for the first time.
‘Very powerful tool’:
Ciappina stated that his strike group had no plans to conduct any freedom of navigation operations. He mentioned that the Cavour would engage in humanitarian work in the Philippines, including performing surgery on children in the ship’s hospital while docked in Manila.
“An aircraft carrier — just being present somewhere, it has an effect, it can influence. It is a very powerful tool,” Ciappina said.
Manila and Beijing have repeatedly exchanged barbs over jurisdiction, with the Philippines challenging China’s permanent presence around strategic features within Manila’s exclusive economic zone.
Ciappina stated that the Italian Navy’s first Indo-Pacific deployment enhanced its training and deepened its understanding of the region.
He said that although the deployment is not a NATO initiative, Italy has coordinated with the French Navy and Britain’s Royal Navy, which will send ships to the region later in the year, to ensure significant capacity remains in the Mediterranean.
“Everything is connected… that’s why we have to also be present in the Pacific now,” he said.
