Protesters march on Chinese embassy
Police detain six demonstrators in Ho Chi Minh City
Protesters march in Ho Chi Minh City
- Asia Desk, Bangkok
- Vietnam
- July 2, 2012
Hundreds of anti-China demonstrators took to the streets in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City yesterday in the latest public show of support for a group of disputed islands in the South China Sea, leading to six arrests.
Shouting “protest China’s invasion” while flying Vietnamese flags, as many as 500 protestors marched on the Chinese embassy in the capital, according to bloggers.
The latest demonstrations follow the government’s passing late last month of a new law of the sea designed to protect Vietnam’s territorial interests, which has in turn prompted China to shore up its claims to the Spratly and Paracel Islands.
Security officials surrounded the demonstrators and videoed them while preventing anyone from approaching the embassy in Hanoi. No one was arrested.
A further 500 students and intellectuals marched on the Chinese consulate in Vietnam’s commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City prompting six arrests.
“It is regrettable that the police blocked the demonstration,” said one 23-year-old female student protestor. “We will stage other demonstrations to bring justice to our country,”
Demonstrators were surrounded by state security personnel who erected iron barriers on streets leading up to the consulate. They also surrounded two monasteries amid reports Buddhists planned to join the protests.
State-run media has not published any reports of the event.
Yesterday’s protests represent the second of their kind after crowds similarly demonstrated against China’s claims to a string of contested islands leading to the arrests of dozens of people for taking part, some of whom were detained for several months.
On June 21, the government passed a new law of the sea stating that Vietnam would resolve maritime disputes through peaceful means, respect for sovereignty and international law, prompting China to respond the same day by making the small island city of Sansha administratively responsible for the Spratly and Paracel islands.
Two days later China National Offshore Oil Corporation invited international bids for nine oil and gas blocks in Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone, an offshore area that extends 200 miles from its coastline.
Shouting “protest China’s invasion” while flying Vietnamese flags, as many as 500 protestors marched on the Chinese embassy in the capital, according to bloggers.
The latest demonstrations follow the government’s passing late last month of a new law of the sea designed to protect Vietnam’s territorial interests, which has in turn prompted China to shore up its claims to the Spratly and Paracel Islands.
Security officials surrounded the demonstrators and videoed them while preventing anyone from approaching the embassy in Hanoi. No one was arrested.
A further 500 students and intellectuals marched on the Chinese consulate in Vietnam’s commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City prompting six arrests.
“It is regrettable that the police blocked the demonstration,” said one 23-year-old female student protestor. “We will stage other demonstrations to bring justice to our country,”
Demonstrators were surrounded by state security personnel who erected iron barriers on streets leading up to the consulate. They also surrounded two monasteries amid reports Buddhists planned to join the protests.
State-run media has not published any reports of the event.
Yesterday’s protests represent the second of their kind after crowds similarly demonstrated against China’s claims to a string of contested islands leading to the arrests of dozens of people for taking part, some of whom were detained for several months.
On June 21, the government passed a new law of the sea stating that Vietnam would resolve maritime disputes through peaceful means, respect for sovereignty and international law, prompting China to respond the same day by making the small island city of Sansha administratively responsible for the Spratly and Paracel islands.
Two days later China National Offshore Oil Corporation invited international bids for nine oil and gas blocks in Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone, an offshore area that extends 200 miles from its coastline.
