Taiwan's navy has taken a group of academics to disputed islands in the South China Sea, the military said Monday, in a renewed territorial claim amid mounting tensions in the contested waters.

A 14-member delegation from National Taiwan Ocean University completed a seven-day visit to Taiwanese-controlled Taiping, the biggest island in the Spratlys, on Monday in the first such trip by academics since 1967.

"The trip will not only help the youths better understand the Spratlys' ecology but also the efforts of the coastguards and the navy in safeguarding national territory," the defence ministry said in a statement.

The group, led by Su Hui-ching, the chief of the university's Institute of the Law of the Sea, and Sung Yen-hui, an expert at South China Sea issues, met President Ma Ying-jeou immediately after wrapping up the voyage.

"Through the visit, the government has demonstrated physical clout," Ma told the group, referring to the naval fleet that took them to the remote archipelago and the reinforced coastguards deployed on Taiping.

Taiwan reiterated its claims to the Spratlys in June, along with three other island groups in the South China Sea, amid a resurgence of rival claims for the territory.

Taiwan's defence ministry said last month it was considering deploying missile boats in the waters and tanks on disputed islands, as tensions mounted over territorial differences.

The missile boat plan emerges as China is becoming increasingly assertive in the potentially resource-rich South China Sea, following several years of relative quiet.

Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, China, Malaysia, and the Philippines claim all or part of the Spratlys, which it is thought may be lying on top of large oil reserves.

Relations between Vietnam and fellow communist state China have sunk to their lowest ebb in years following recent sea confrontations which reignited a row over sovereignty of the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos.

Analysts believe the possibility of a clash between the two sides has risen, although Beijing has said that it would not use or threaten force in the South China Sea.

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