Vietnamese foreign ministry officials met Chinese embassy staff on Wednesday in response to reports of Chinese naval activity last month around the Spratly islands, a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea.

"The Vietnamese side clearly stated that by conducting the drills in Truong Sa Archipelago (Vietnam's name for the Spratlys), China had violated Vietnamese sovereignty," a statement from the ministry of foreign affairs said. It said Vietnamese officials urged China to "refrain from activities that would further complicate the situation".

The complaint came after the Xinhua news agency said a Chinese naval escort fleet had conducted counter-piracy drills on February 24, the statement said.

A report of the exercises was filed from the warship itself by China's military mouthpiece, the People's Liberation Army Daily, and posted on the website of the country's defence ministry.

The potentially oil-rich Spratlys are also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines which are all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as Taiwan.

A more northerly archipelago, the Paracels, is claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan. China's growing military might and assertiveness in the South China Sea has caused concern among its neighbours.

Vietnam has reported numerous cases of fishing boats and equipment being seized by China in disputed areas since 2009.

ASEAN countries and the United States have attempted to persuade China to resolve the territorial disputes with multilateral talks, but so far to no avail.