This week, for the first time, the Italian aircraft carrier strike group deployed to the Indian Ocean-Pacific region is participating in war exercises held in Australia with American allies. After the exercises end, they will sail through the South China Sea to the Philippines.
On Thursday, an Italian senior naval officer stated that the Italian aircraft carrier “Cavour” is in the northern Australian city of Darwin to participate in the exercise codenamed “Pitch Black”, with more than twenty Italian fighter jets joining the 20-country exercise alongside Australian hosts.
The United States, United Kingdom, Japan, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea are also taking part in the exercise.
Italian Navy Rear Admiral Giancarlo Ciappina mentioned that this is the first time the Italian aircraft carrier is taking part in such an exercise.
With 23 Italian jet fighters, including 8 stealth F-35B fighters, on vast uninhabited land in northern Australia, they are conducting dogfights, strikes, and other combat operations with allied forces.
Captain Dario Castelli, the air combat commander of the carrier strike group, said, “Pitch Black gives us the opportunity to work alongside the main F-35 fighter group. This deployment away from home is also an incredible logistical exercise for us.”
This deployment comes amid heightened tensions in the disputed South China Sea, where about 40% of Europe’s external trade passes through. The United States, Japan, Australia, and other countries have conducted joint maritime exercises in the South China Sea, stating that these exercises are aimed at maintaining freedom of navigation. China claims almost the entire South China Sea as its strategic waterway.
Ciappina mentioned that the current exercises will conclude on August 2nd. Following that, the Italian carrier strike group, comprising 1200 personnel, will head to Guam and Japan in the U.S. Pacific territories, then cross the South China Sea for the first time en route to the Philippines.
He emphasized that his carrier strike group does not have plans to carry out any operations to enforce freedom of navigation.
Ciappina stated, “Cavour will engage in humanitarian work in the Philippines, conducting surgeries for children at the onboard hospital in Manila during the port visit.”
He added, “A carrier, once it shows up somewhere, has an impact, has an effect. It’s a very powerful tool.”
Manila challenges China’s permanent presence around strategic locations in its exclusive economic zone, leading to repeated skirmishes over jurisdictional issues. In the most serious confrontation on June 17th, Chinese coast guard personnel aboard motorboats armed with knives, spears, and axes clashed with Philippine navy supply ships near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in a chaotic standoff, injuring Philippine sailors and seizing seven rifles from the Philippine navy.
On July 12th, marking the eighth anniversary of an international arbitration decision on the South China Sea issue, the U.S. once again urged China to halt its aggressive actions in the region, emphasizing the emergence of a wide security network to uphold rule-based order in the contested waters.
On that day, the top U.S. diplomat in Manila, along with key Western and Asian allies like Japan and Australia, participated in a forum in Manila, expressing shock over the escalating hostile actions in the disputed waters, particularly the disputes between China and the Philippines, and pledging to help defend the rule-based order in the Indo-Pacific region. U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken stated the previous day that according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, “the 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling is final and legally binding on both the People’s Republic of China and the Philippines.”
On July 14th, Philippine Navy spokesperson for Western Philippine Sea Affairs, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, stated that they will fully support the government’s plan to submit a new complaint to the United Nations against China’s provocations in the South China Sea. He noted that China’s carrier capabilities still “need decades” to mature and urged Filipinos not to fear China’s “bluster.”
(This article is a reference to Reuters’ report)