Taipei  - An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale occurred off southeast Taiwan Sunday, but there were no reports of casualties.

The quake struck at 9:57 am (0157 GMT) with its epicenter 296 kilometres southeast of Taitung on the southeast coast of Taiwan, 46.5 kilometres under the seabed.

Taiwan sits on the earthquake belt and most of the tremors occur off Taiwan's east coast, caused the friction between the Eurasian and Philippine Plate. (dpa)