Taipei | May 24

Reuters -  Taiwan sent coast guard ships and a helicopter to push back a Chinese research vessel that it said had entered its waters, the second such intrusion in a month, an official said on Tuesday.

The ship, from the geological research unit of the Chinese government, has been in an area about 95 nautical miles southwest of the island's southern port city of Kaohsiung since Sunday, the official said.

"In less than a month, Chinese marine exploration ships have entered areas that fall in our economic waters twice. This is a serious violation of our sea jurisdiction," said a spokesman for the Taiwan cabinet's Coast Guard Administration.