Naples, 7 Oct. (LaPresse) – “The sea does not separate us from the world. It makes us part of the world. It is not merely a geographical or operational space: it is a complex system of connections on which global security, the economy and technology depend.” Defence Minister Guido Crosetto wrote this on X, having spoken in Venice at the 15th Trans-Regional Seapower Symposium alongside representatives from over 70 navies. “We live in an age,” explained Crosetto, “in which events taking place thousands of kilometres away from us can have immediate consequences for our security, our economy and the daily lives of our citizens. We see this in the Strait of Hormuz and at Bab el-Mandeb. We see it in the Red Sea. But there is a front we cannot see: it lies beneath the sea’s surface, where cables, energy, data and essential infrastructure run – things we often do not see, yet on which we depend every day. And we see it in the speed with which technology, drones, autonomous systems, cyber capabilities and artificial intelligence are changing the very way we conceive of defence. Technology that does not wait for our procedures.” According to the minister, “a significant part of the future balance of power will hinge precisely on the ability to manage this technological acceleration. The real competition, in fact, lies as much in possessing the best technology as in transforming it most rapidly into operational capability. This is why no country can expect to tackle the challenges ahead on its own. We need cooperation, interoperability, industrial capacity, innovation and, above all, the ability to rapidly transform technology into concrete security tools. Protecting the sea means protecting what, through the sea, makes us strong: our security, our economy, our freedom. Venice understood this centuries ago. Today – he concluded – we must come to fully understand it once again.”
Defence, Crosetto: ‘Protecting the sea means protecting our security’
Naples, 7 Oct. (LaPresse) – “The sea does not separate us from the world. It makes us part of the world. It is not merely a geographical or operational space: it is a complex system of connections on which global security, the economy and technology depend.” Defence Minister Guido Crosetto wrote this on X, having spoken in Venice at the 15th Trans-Regional Seapower Symposium alongside representatives from over 70 navies. “We live in an age,” explained Crosetto, “in which events taking place thousands of kilometres away from us can have immediate consequences for our security, our economy and the daily lives of our citizens. We see this in the Strait of Hormuz and at Bab el-Mandeb. We see it in the Red Sea. But there is a front we cannot see: it lies beneath the sea’s surface, where cables, energy, data and essential infrastructure run – things we often do not see, yet on which we depend every day. And we see it in the speed with which technology, drones, autonomous systems, cyber capabilities and artificial intelligence are changing the very way we conceive of defence. Technology that does not wait for our procedures.” According to the minister, “a significant part of the future balance of power will hinge precisely on the ability to manage this technological acceleration. The real competition, in fact, lies as much in possessing the best technology as in transforming it most rapidly into operational capability. This is why no country can expect to tackle the challenges ahead on its own. We need cooperation, interoperability, industrial capacity, innovation and, above all, the ability to rapidly transform technology into concrete security tools. Protecting the sea means protecting what, through the sea, makes us strong: our security, our economy, our freedom. Venice understood this centuries ago. Today – he concluded – we must come to fully understand it once again.”