"There is an international law, a law of the sea, which the navy must be subject to, like all the navies in the world," Defence Minister Antonio Martino said after talks with his Albanian counterpart in Rome.

Asked if the Italian navy could use force to stop the boats transporting clandestine immigrants from reaching Italy's coast, Martino replied: "No, not the navy".

Umberto Bossi, the firebrand leader of government coalition member The Northern League, caused a storm of outrage on Monday when he allegedly proposed firing cannons to prevent the flow of clandestine immigrants from reaching Italy's shores.

"There are two ways to apply a law: either our boats will confront the clandestine immigrants coming ashore... or you write in black and white that force must be used," Bossi was quoted as saying in an interview with the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

"After the second or third warning, boom... fire the cannon. Don't talk too much," said Bossi, who is minister for reform in Silvio Berlusconi's ruling coalition.

But Bossi, known for his inflammatory and frequently xenephobic remarks, immediately denied having made the comments, describing the interview as "a brief exchange of only a couple of jokes".

WAR.WIRE