Italy and the Philippines: from naval encounters to diplomatic recognition (1866-1948)

This chapter explores the evolution of diplomatic relations be-tween Italy and the Philippines by focusing on two pivotal and formative moments in the history of bilateral engagement. The first spans from 1866 to the final decades of the 19th century, a period in which the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Mari-na) played a central role in projecting Italy’s presence in the Asia-Pacific. During this era, naval commanders often acted as de facto diplomats, engaging in negotiations, collecting intelli-gence, and laying the groundwork for Italy’s early foreign poli-cy in the region. The second moment, examined in the latter part of the chapter, corresponds to the years immediately following Philip-pine independence in 1946, when the two countries formally es-tablished official relations and signed their first bilateral treaty. Together, these two phases reveal the strategic, symbolic, and practical dimensions of Italy–Philippines diplomatic interaction.