JAKARTA: Indonesia has sent an official note of protest to Malaysia over last week's incident where warships from the two neighbours brushed sides in a disputed oil-rich maritime area, a minister said today.

"We have already sent the protest yesterday (Tuesday). We stated our position in this case," Foreign Minister Hasan Wirayuda told journalists at his office.

He said a scheduled meeting between both countries' naval chiefs would be held in "one or two days," on the Indonesian island of Batam, just south of Singapore, to discuss "how the tension in that region can be reduced".

The navy vessels brushed sides several times near the Karang Unarang reef in the sea east of Borneo island on Friday, where Indonesia is building a lighthouse to strengthen its territorial claims in the disputed region.

Warships from both countries have come into close contact several times since Feb 16 when Malaysia granted an oil concession to Anglo-Dutch firm Shell in the region, a move that angered Jakarta.

Peace talks

Wirayuda also said he discussed the case with his Malaysian counterpart Syed Hamid Albar on the sidelines of a recent meeting in the Philippines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

"We sought to see what had really happened," he said. He also said they both exchanged their respective positions on the claim and vowed to avoid a repeat of such incidents in the future.

Last month officials from both sides began negotiations to settle the dispute. They are to meet again in May.

The two countries have locked horns over the region before. A dispute over the ownership of two islands ended in December 2002 with an International Court of Justice ruling that the islands belong to Malaysia.

Indonesia waged a limited war against Malayan and British forces over the future of Borneo island in 1963 after the British relinquished control. The conflict ended three years later as Jakarta focused on internal problems.