The Maldives coast guards have sunk a small vessel carrying suspected Tamil Tiger terrorists at sea in their southern territorial waters.

The Maldivian government said the incident took place on Thursday after a 12-hour standoff.

Ahmed Shaheed, the Maldives' foreign minister, told Reuters by telephone from the Maldivian capital of Male: "We have sunk the vessel. We have captured the five people aboard.

"We suspect they are Tamil Tiger terrorists."

A government spokesman said one of the captured men identified himself as a Tamil Tiger terrorists and said the boat was carrying guns and mortar bombs.

Maldivian fishermen spotted the Tiger terrorists boat on Wednesday evening and gave chase after believing it was a fishing boat poaching in their waters, Mohamed Hussain Shareef, Maldives government spokesman, said.

When the boat's crew opened fire on the fishermen, they informed the Maldivian coast guard, which later sank it after a standoff, Shareef said.

The incident took place several hundred nautical miles off the south of the Maldives archipelago.

Sri Lanka's Navy has sunk several boats and trawlers in recent months suspected of trafficking weaponry for the Tiger terrorists across the Palk Strait that separates Sri Lanka and India.