HANOI (AFP) — Hundreds of Vietnamese
protesters Sunday again rallied
peacefully against
Beijing 's claims to two disputed
South China Sea island chains but were
kept away by police from Chinese
diplomatic missions.
About 300 demonstrators in the capital
Hanoi and 100 in the southern hub
of
Ho Chi Minh City were prevented
from rallying outside the embassy and
consulate of
Vietnam 's northern neighbour and
communist ally by hundreds of police.
In
Hanoi , security forces cordoned
off the Lenin Park area near the
embassy, where demonstrators one week
earlier staged a rare hour-long protest
over the Spratly and Paracel
archipelagos that earned
Hanoi a sharp rebuke from
Beijing .
Instead, the groups of protesters, most of them students, marched
through the centre of the capital,
shouting anti-Chinese slogans and
singing patriotic songs in the latest
display of anger over the long-simmering
dispute.
Most of the demonstrators wore identical
T-shirts with the red-and-gold
Vietnamese flag, a map of
Vietnam that included the
islands, and the words " China hegemony
jeopardises
Asia " and "Beware of the
invasion."
Another banner read: "We are small but
not reconciled to
China 's invasion."
In
Ho Chi Minh City around 100
student demonstrators were rallying at a
park near the Chinese consulate, holding
signs that read "Hands off Vietnam,"
"Vietnam: United We Stand" and "Stop
Chinese Expansion."
The two archipelagos, considered
strategic outposts in the South China
Sea , have potential oil and gas
reserves and rich fishing grounds.
The disputes stir strong passions in
Vietnam , which remembers a
millennium of Chinese rule and fought
its last border war with
China in 1979.
The Spratlys, more than 100 islets,
reefs and atolls, are claimed in full or
part by China , Vietnam , the
Philippines ,
Malaysia , Brunei and
Taiwan .
The Paracels -- which Chinese troops
took from South Vietnamese forces in
1974 -- are also claimed by
Vietnam and
Taiwan .
The protest started December 9 after
China set up a county level government
unit which covers 2.6 million square
kilometres (1 million square miles),
mostly ocean, including the disputed
isles.
That rally, which supported
Vietnam 's official stance, was
tolerated by police for about one hour,
a rarity in
Vietnam , where public protests
are usually suppressed quickly.
China protested the demonstration
two days later.
"We are highly concerned over the
matter," said foreign ministry spokesman
Qin Gang at the time. "We hope the
Vietnamese government will take a
responsible attitude and effective
measures to stop this and prevent
bilateral ties from being hurt."
------------ -----
Vietnamese rally again
over islands disputed with
China
By Frank Zeller
Agence France-Presse
Last updated
03:43pm (Mla time) 12/16/2007
HANOI --Anti-China protesters Sunday
rallied in
Vietnam over disputed islands but
were kept away by police from Bejing's
diplomatic missions after a protest last
week sparked a rebuke from
China .
Several hundred demonstrators in
Hanoi and
Ho Chi Minh City marched in the
long-simmering dispute over the Spratly
and Paracel archipelagos in the South
China Sea, which are claimed by China ,
Vietnam and other regional countries.
Police prevented about 300 demonstrators
in the capital and around 100 in the
southern port city formerly called
Saigon from protesting outside the
embassy and consulate of
Vietnam 's northern neighbor and
communist ally.
Similar noisy but peaceful rallies on
December 9, which supported
Vietnam 's official territorial
claims, were tolerated by police for
about one hour, triggering a diplomatic
protest from
Beijing two days later.
"We are highly concerned over the
matter," said
China 's foreign ministry after
the first protest.
"We hope the Vietnamese government will
take a responsible attitude and
effective measures to stop this and
prevent bilateral ties from being hurt."
In
the latest rally, groups of
demonstrators marched through
Hanoi , waving flags, shouting
anti-China slogans and singing patriotic
songs.
Most of the protesters wore identical
T-shirts with the red-and-gold
Vietnamese flag, a map of
Vietnam that included the
islands, and the words " China hegemony
jeopardizes
Asia " and "Beware of the
invasion."
In
Ho Chi Minh City around 100
demonstrators were rallying at a park
near the Chinese consulate, holding up
signs that read "Hands off Vietnam,"
"Vietnam: United We Stand" and "Stop
Chinese Expansion."
The two archipelagos -- called Truong Sa
(Spratlys) and Hoang Sa (Paracels) in
Vietnamese --- are considered strategic
outposts in the South China Sea , have
potential oil and gas reserves and rich
fishing grounds.
The Spratlys, more than 100 islets,
reefs and atolls, are claimed in full or
part by China , Vietnam , the
Philippines ,
Malaysia , Brunei and
Taiwan .
The Paracels -- which Chinese troops
took from South Vietnamese forces in
1974 -- are also claimed by
Vietnam and
Taiwan .
The disputes stir strong passions in
Vietnam , which remembers a
millennium of Chinese rule and fought
its last border war with
China in 1979. A naval clash in
1998 near one of the Spratlys killed
more than 50 Vietnamese sailors. The
street protests started on December 9
after China set up a county-level
government unit which covers 2.6 million
square kilometers (one million square
miles), mostly ocean, including the
disputed isles.
The issue has been hotly debated on
blogs in
Vietnam , and Vietnamese hackers
have defaced at least one Chinese
government website.
The islands have been flashpoints for
years, and the number of disputes has
risen as declining fish stocks have
forced fishing crews from
Vietnam and elsewhere to sail
deeper into disputed waters.
In
July a Chinese naval vessel fired at a
Vietnamese fishing boat near the
Spratlys, sinking the boat and killing
one sailor, reports said.
Vietnam expert Carl Thayer said
China was pursuing "a policy of
creeping assertiveness" in the region,
which conflicts with
Vietnam 's maritime strategy of
maximizing the development of its
offshore resources by 2020.
"Chinese naval vessels have reportedly
fired on Vietnamese fishing boats," said
Thayer, of the Australian Defense Force
Academy .
Beijing had also pressured oil
company British Petroleum to stop
developing an area off southern Vietnam
, he said.
"
China has the upper hand because
it can threaten the interests of foreign
companies who operate in both
China and
Vietnam ," he told AFP.
Thayer, a veteran
Vietnam watcher, said public
rallies in
Vietnam critical of
China are "unprecedented and may
represent the first step in a prolonged
information campaign to win over
international sympathy and support."