New anti-China protest in Vietnam

HANOI – Almost 100 Vietnamese rallied in Hanoi on Sunday for a fourth consecutive weekend to protest against China’s role in an escalating maritime row between the communist neighbors.

The crowd, some wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the Vietnamese national flag, swelled as it marched through the capital’s streets, chanting and singing patriotic songs.

The demonstration came as the United States, during talks in Hawaii, called on China to lower tensions in the South China Sea through dialogue.

Some protesters held signs with slogans such as “Spratlys and Paracels are the blood and flesh of Vietnam”, referring to the two potentially energy-rich archipelagos in the South China Sea at the centre of the maritime spat.

“We wanted to show our patriotism and support our government in the dispute with China,” said a 70-year-old protester who did not want to be named.

“China invaded our maritime territories, robbing the assets of our fishermen. We are here to protest against them,” said another demonstrator.

Unlike on previous weekends, police partially sealed off two streets near the Chinese embassy, preventing the crowd from getting close.

Political protests are not common in authoritarian Vietnam, where only small land rights rallies are tolerated.

In Japan, about 200 Vietnamese marched through the streets of Tokyo on Saturday to protest against China, the first of its kind in Japan.

On Thursday, Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga said the rallies were “proof” that Vietnamese people have “become very frustrated” about developments in the South China Sea.

Tensions have heightened in recent weeks with Vietnam holding live-fire military exercises after accusing Chinese ships of ramming one oil survey ship and cutting the exploration cables of another.

China staged its own three days of military exercises which state media said were aimed at boosting the country’s offshore maritime patrol force.