AN urges Italy not to rock the boat

Azzjoni Nazzjonali has called on the Italian government not to do anything that could jeopardise its long-standing friendship with Malta and the stability in the Mediterranean.

AN leader Josie Muscat said his party agreed with the Maltese government's stand to hold on to the country's search and rescue (SAR) area despite Italy's criticism.

"We condemn any attack on Malta's sovereignty and territorial integrity that includes our SAR area, which is part of our heritage," Dr Muscat said shortly after delivering a letter addressed to Italian Ambassador Paulo Andrea Trabalza at the embassy in Floriana.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told the Italian media last week that Malta's SAR area was too big for the island and reducing it was "indispensible to the international community".

His comments were sparked by the case of five Eritrean immigrants who were rescued off Lampedusa, claiming that 73 others aboard their rubber dinghy had died after spending almost 20 days lost at sea.

Dr Muscat said both Malta and Italy were EU countries and, thus, any issues between the two - including the SAR dispute - were to be solved through discussions.

When contacted, Mr Trabalza said he preferred not to comment at this stage because he was in Italy and had not yet seen AN's letter, a copy of which was also sent to the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader.

Mr Frattini tried to blame the alleged failure to rescue the immigrants on what he said was Malta's "lack of resources" to patrol its large SAR area. But the Maltese government rejected this claim, insisting that neither Malta nor Italy were to blame for the incident because when the dinghy was first spotted by the Armed Forces of Malta it had only five people on board and was in Libyan waters.

Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg has insisted that Malta's SAR "is not for sale". He said no talks were held with Italy on the matter and the government's position had not changed since a Cabinet decision in April that Malta had no intention whatsoever of reducing its SAR area.

Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat fully backed the Maltese government saying the Labour Party did not agree to any reduction of the SAR area.

Malta's SAR zone, a left over from the colonial years under the British, covers some 250,000 square kilometres spanning from Tunisia to Crete.

In recent years Italy and Spain have been pushing for change within the International Maritime Organisation so people rescued in a country's SAR area are taken to the coordinating country rather than the closest safe port of call. It is widely believed the position adopted by Italy and Spain is intended to pressure Malta into giving up its large SAR region.