- Title: VIETNAM: Vietnamese protest against Chinese oil rig
- Date: 11th May 2014
- Summary: HANOI, VIETNAM (MAY 11,2014) (REUTERS-ACCESS ALL) VARIOUS OF YOUNG VIETNAMESE CHANTING AND HOLDING BANNERS AND FLAGS OUTSIDE CHINESE EMBASSY A BANNER WITH A BLACK CROSS OVER A PICTURE OF CHINESE 981 OIL RIG VARIOUS OF A GROUP OF PROTESTERS SHOUTING (Vietnamese): "DOWN WITH INVASIVE CHINA" BANNER READING (English): "PARACEL ISLANDS & SPRATLY ISLANDS BELONG TO VIETNAM" (SOUNDBITE) (Vietnamese) STUDENT, HOANG THI NHAT LE, SAYING: "We are very angry. We came here today to show that we students are ready to side along with the government and when requested, we will do everything within our abilities to protect our nation's sovereignty." VARIOUS OF CROWD CHANTING AND SHOUTING IN FRONT OF CHINESE EMBASSY BANNER READING (English): "PARACEL ISLANDS VIETNAM-SPRATLY ISLAND VIETNAM" MORE OF CROWD CHANTING VARIOUS OF MAN PUSHING A BABY STROLLER HOLDING UP A BANNER READING (English): "CHINA! HANDS OFF VIETNAM" (SOUNDBITE ) (Vietnamese) VIETNAM WAR VETERAN, NGUYEN QUANG THANG SAYING: "Our country has been through years of war against an invasion. We want to use peaceful days such as today to live in stability and to move forward, but China keeps dragging us into war. We resent this and, it is against our will. We have to defend ourselves" PROTESTERS GATHERED OUTSIDE EMBASSY
- Embargoed: 26th May 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Vietnam
- City:
- Country: Vietnam
- Topics: International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAC3N12EADEEUKPOM3TXHKVQACD
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: Vietnamese protested outside the Chinese embassy in Hanoi on Sunday (May 11), against maritime territorial disputes with neighbouring China.
Sunday's rare protest, organized through blogs and social networks, drew a crowd of about 200, a Reuters reporter said.
Protesters carried banners, chanting "get out of Vietnam".
Tensions ratcheted up last week after China positioned a huge oil rig in an area also claimed by Vietnam, with each country accusing the other of ramming its ships in the region close to the disputed Paracel Islands.
One student said they were determined to protect their nation's sovereignty.
"We are very angry. We came here today to show that we students are ready to side along with the government and when requested, we will do everything within our abilities to protect our nation's sovereignty," Hoang Thi Nhat Le said.
A 60 year-old Vietnamese war veteran said he resented China's actions.
"Our country has been through years of war against an invasion. We want to use peaceful days such as today to live in stability and to move forward, but China keeps dragging us into war. We resent this and, it is against our will. We have to defend ourselves," Nguyen Quang Thang said.
A senior foreign ministry official in Beijing demanded that Vietnam withdraw its ships after its southern neighbour asserted that Chinese vessels used water cannon and rammed eight of its vessels at the weekend near the rig. Hanoi said two vessels were badly damaged and six people were wounded in the worst setback to ties between the two Communist nations in years.
China said the drilling operations were being carried out in its territory and it had acted with the "utmost restraint" in using water cannons in response to rammings it blamed on Vietnam. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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