An Italian navy ship on Saturday, July 8, made a port visit to the Philippines as Rome wanted to assure Manila of its support to freedom of navigation amid various activities in the South China Sea seen as threats to rules-based order. Italian vessel Francesco Morosini arrived at the Port of Manila for a five-day stay as the Italian Ministry of Defense and Navy aimed to strengthen "the cooperation with the Philippine Armed Forces and the Department of National Defense," its embassy in the Philippines said. "Morosini visit reinforces the cooperation between Italy and the Philippines in order to promote naval diplomacy along with freedom of navigation, respect for the international law of the sea and a safe and inclusive Indo-Pacific," the embassy said. Photo courtesy of Juan Carlo de Vela/MANILA BULLETIN
While Italy supports calls to ensure freedom of navigation, it said it does not want to interfere in affairs of other countries, especially in the dispute on the South China Sea. Italy said it experiences the same "phenomenon," called as "territorialization of the sea." "What I must say, as the ambassador has already explained to you, the position of Italian Navy is that freedom of navigation and...the international rules that are based on the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) is fully supported by the Italian Navy. And wherever we go, we support those rules," Rear Admiral Fabio Gregori said. Part of Morosini's crew's schedule in Manila is to conduct basic maritime training as well as a joint passing exercise (PASSEX) with the Philippines troops, he added. "It's important to enhance our interoperability and...just exchange experience," he added. Before the Philippines, Morosini had already made port visits to neighboring countries of Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea. According to the embassy, its mission in the Indo-Pacific "focused on promoting the international image of the Italian Navy and Italy as a whole." But its deployment is also to support a marine international research being conducted by two Italian researchers, who aim to collect biological and physical samples up to 100 meters depth along her cruise in some parts of the Indo-Pacific basins, it added. Built in Italy at Fincantieri’s Integrated Shipyard, Morosini is named after the Doge of Venice, who successfully commanded the Venetian Republic fleet in the XVII century in numerous naval battles against the Ottoman empire. Formally a multipurpose off-shore patrol vessel, she was designed with enhanced “dual use” features to perform both military tasks, including patrol, logistic transport and surface combat, and civil protection activities. Morosini, according to the embassy, features a peculiar wave-piercing double bow, reminiscent of the rostrum of ancient Roman ships, an engineering solution optimizing the vessel’s performances in terms of hydrodynamics and maximum attainable speed, with a significant reduction in fuel consumption.