The conversation crystallises how Italy now views European and Asian security as increasingly interconnected.
Why it matters: Crosetto framed the Ukraine war and rising Indo-Pacific tensions as part of a single security environment. This line aligns Italy with Japan’s strategic outlook and reflects its push to widen NATO’s horizon beyond the transatlantic focus.
Driving the news: Crosetto expressed “full solidarity” after a Chinese military aircraft locked its radar onto a Japanese Self-Defence Forces plane on December 6.
- He argued that pressure on Japan from China and Russia mirrors the threats facing Europe, and that Rome and Tokyo must therefore strengthen their defence cooperation.
- The tone goes well beyond routine diplomacy — signalling that Japan’s security is becoming directly relevant to European stability.
Zoom in: A deeper Italy–Japan axis. The Crosetto–Koizumi exchange comes as military integration accelerates.
- Days earlier, Italy’s Chief of Defence, Admiral Luciano Portolano, met with Japan’s Ground Self-Defence Force Chief Arai Masayoshi in Rome.
- The message: Italy and Japan are not just cooperating — they are aligning systems, technologies and operational postures.
- Politics matters too: Giorgia Meloni and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi — the G7’s only two women leaders — have developed a strong personal rapport.
- Their meeting, expected in January, will seal the political, industrial, and military layers of the relationship.
Between the lines: GCAP, the joint sixth-generation fighter program with the UK, is the backbone — but the relationship is now evolving into multidomain cooperation, encompassing deterrence, supply chains, maritime security, and tech collaboration.
The big picture: Italy is back in the Indo-Pacific. Two parallel tracks define Rome’s new posture:
- Meloni’s upcoming trip to Japan (with a likely stop in South Korea) — reinforcing ties with Asia’s leading maritime democracies.
- Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani’s mission to India, where he unveiled financial tools to boost Italian industrial presence and inserted Italy more firmly into regional value chains and the IMEC corridor.
Italy is responding to:
- U.S. expectations for stronger allied engagement in the Indo-Pacific are flagged in the new National Security Strategy.
- Its own national assets — shipbuilding, aerospace, energy, and advanced manufacturing — that give Rome leverage in Asia.
State of play: Italy’s Indo-Pacific arc is taking shape:
- Japan is a pillar of defence and technology.
- India as the geoeconomic anchor.
- South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Indonesia are rounding out Rome’s emerging footprint.
What we’re watching:
- Expect the Meloni–Takaichi meeting to formalise Italy’s long-term Indo-Pacific strategy — and to turn the Crosetto–Koizumi line into a strategic doctrine: Italy views European and Asian security as a single theatre, and it is acting accordingly.
