Taipei - Taiwan upheld its claim to the disputed Spratly Islands Friday, a day after Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi inspected Layang Layang, one of the islets of the South China Sea archipelago.

"Historically, geographically and factually, the Spratly Islands and surrounding waters have long been the traditional territory of the Republic of China without doubt," said Taiwan's Foreign Ministry in a statement.

It said Taiwan would never recognise the territorial or sovereignty claims by any other countries over the Spratly Islands either in the form of occupation or inspection.

The statement came after Abdullah made an inspection trip on Thursday to Layang Layang or Swallow's Reef - a small reef in the Spratly Islands claimed by Malaysia as its territory.

The visit risked conflicts with other claimants, including Taiwan, China, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei. Taiwan has stationed troops in Taiping Islet, the largest of the archipelago.

Taiwan's foreign ministry asked Malaysia to resolve the disputes peacefully through dialogue with all claimants in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea. (dpa)