Hong Kong-based activists planning to land this week on the Senkaku Islands to assert Chinese sovereignty have called off their voyage after running into problems with Taiwan, the journey's planned starting point.

The Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands accused the Taiwan government of blocking the protest.

"Because of persecution against our action to defend the Diaoyu Islands by the Taiwanese government, the Chuan Chia Fu vessel will not be able to set sail on the 15th, and we are canceling our plan to go to Taiwan," the group's chairman, Lo Chau, said in a statement Monday.