Italia-Cina: le interazioni in ambito navale e la proiezione cinese nel Mediterraneo allargato - Italy-China: Naval Interactions and Chinese Projection in the Wider Mediterranean

Abstract

In October 1979, the Italian naval vessels “Ardito” and “Lupo” were welcomed in Shanghai in the first visit by the Italian Navy to the People’s Republic of China. Despite this promising start, exchanges with the People’s Liberation Army Navy remained limited for a long time. Since the early 2010s, however, interactions have intensified, mostly amid China’s growing projection towards the wider Mediterranean region. On the one hand, the two navies have increasingly interacted in the Gulf of Aden, in the context of their respective anti-piracy missions. On the other, such interactions have gradually extended to the Mediterranean Sea, with an increasing frequency of Chinese visits to Italian ports. While China’s naval projection towards the wider Mediterranean region has fostered stability in the region, as demonstrated by Beijing’s contribution to anti-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden, its broader strategic implications for Italy should not be overlooked.