JAKARTA - A strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia's North Maluku province on Thursday but no tsunami warning was issued, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said.

The centre of the quake, which struck at 10:22 am (0122 GMT), was about 216 kilometres northeast of provincial capital Ternate on the island of the same name in North Maluku, an official said.

The tremor was 105 kilometres deep, said the official from the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency.

The US Geological Survey clocked the quake at 5.9.

Indonesia sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where continental plates meet, and where earthquakes are a regular and often deadly occurrence. - AFP/ir