Jakarta (ANTARA) - Italy supports ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) for maintaining stability and peace in the region, Italian Ambassador to Indonesia Benedetto Latteri said on Tuesday.

The region is strategic for trade, and Italy wanted to be present to support the stability and peace in the region, he said at a press conference during a port call of ITS Francesco Morosini at Tanjung Priok Port, Jakarta, on Tuesday.

The Italian warship will pay a port call to Jakarta for five days from July 18–22, 2023, as part of its five-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific.

Latteri said Italy wants "to show our result in maintaining the status quo" in the Indo-Pacific region.

He added that the missions of the ship include ensuring stability and peace in the region, among others, which is in line with ASEAN's position in the Indo-Pacific.

Francesco Morosini is the latest high-technology Italian ship, Latteri said. It was commissioned in the Italian Navy in October last year, and is currently on its first operational deployment.

It has been sailing since last April and has made stops in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea before arriving in Indonesia. The ship will travel to other ports before returning to Italy at the end of September.

Named after a soldier of the Venetian Republic who lived between 1619 and 1694, the ship has been designed with enhanced dual-use features to perform both military tasks, including patrol, logistics transport, and surface combat, as well as civil protection activities.

Morosini can attain a speed of up to 32 knots or the equivalent of 59.26 km per hour.

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Reporter: Shofi Ayudiana
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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