Ecuador has sent up a squadron of military aircraft to patrol its borders in response to Saturday's incursion by Columbian planes which sparked a further breakdown in diplomatic relations between the two nations.

Columbian pilots raised the hackles of the Ecuadorian government when they pursued guerillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Bermeja, Sucambios, a province in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Ecuador defense minister Oswaldo Jarrin said on Wednesday the move, part of Ecuador's Air Defense Plan, aims to prevent similar incidents happening again.

The A-37 planes from the Ecuadorian Air force will patrol the frontier. And should another Colombian incursion take place, they will apply internationally agreed procedures to escort the aircraft back to their own airspace.

"That is the plan: send a plane, accompany the intruder, demonstrate with conventionally accepted signals that he must leave the area and intercept him as the last resort. I don't think there will be a need to open fire," Jarrin said.

"We have moved from persuasion to dissuasion, international diplomacy has not been enough," the minister said.

Colombia's armed forces had premeditated their attack on the FARC from Ecuadorian airspace, Jarrin said.

"The San Miguel River which forms the border with Colombia is 80 meters deep. It is impossible to believe they did not know they had entered Ecuadorian territory," he said.

Ecuador sent a letter of protest on Tuesday to the Colombian embassy in Ecuador, demanding a reply by Wednesday.

However, no reply has been received yet, Ecuador's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

Source: Xinhua