Malaysia summoned Indonesia's ambassador and handed him a protest note after ships from the neighbours' navies confronted each other in a disputed oil-rich maritime area, an embassy official said today.

"Our ambassador (Rusdihardjo) was summoned to Putrajaya on Saturday to receive a protest note," Eka Suripto, spokesman for the Indonesian mission here, told AFP .

Warships from the two countries brushed sides several times near the Karang Unarang reef in the sea east of Borneo island last Friday, where Indonesia is building a lighthouse to strengthen its territorial claims in the disputed region.

Jakarta sent an official note of protest to Malaysia over the incident on Tuesday, stating that Malaysian warships had intruded into its territory.

Suripto said the situation in the disputed area was now calm as navy chiefs from both countries were meeting in Batam, off Singapore today, to prevent similar incidents.

Tensions rose in the area when when Malaysia granted an oil concession on Feb 16 to Anglo-Dutch firm Shell in the region, a move that angered Jakarta.

Last year, Indonesia awarded a concession to US-based oil firm Unocal. Exploration work has yet to start.

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.