VALLETTA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Another row between Malta and Italy has erupted over who should assume responsibility for the safety of 171 migrants, who were picked up by Italian Coast Guard ship Diciotti from a boat.
The Maltese government said in a statement on Friday that the boat carrying the migrants was not in distress, but was simply passing through its waters and that the migrants were picked up closer to the Italian island of Lampedusa than Malta.
The Maltese government explained that the boat had refused offers of assistance from a Maltese patrol boat which had monitored it while it was in transit through the Malta search and rescue zone.
"The migrants insisted that they did not require assistance and wanted to continue heading to their intended final destination, namely Italy. Hence the AFM continued to monitor the boat to fulfil a duty of care," it said.
The Maltese authorities argued that if the event was to be considered as a search and rescue, under international law, the nearest port of safety was Lampedusa.
The government said that the Italian Rescue Co-ordination centre has no legal claim to ask Malta to provide a safe port for this boat.
According to Times of Malta, the boat remain stranded off Lampedusa awaiting instructions by the Italian authorities.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini late on Wednesday said that Malta should take the migrants since they sailed through Malta's rescue zone but were "ignored" by the Maltese authorities despite being in difficulty. The migrants were subsequently picked up by the Italian coastguard vessel, the Diciotti.
On Italian social media, many have criticised the master of the Italian vessel for picking up the migrants.
The controversy is the latest between Malta and Italy since the new Italian government imposed a hard line on migrant arrivals. Salvini has closed Italy's harbours to migrant rescue vessels and insisted Italy cannot take more migrants, arguing that in some cases that they should be taken to Malta.
Several ships ferrying migrants from North African shores to Europe have required assistance from either Malta or Italy in recent months, with both countries reluctant to take on more migrants.
