Factories burnt in Vietnam anti-China protest

Several factories have been set on fire amid anti-China protests at an industrial park in southern Vietnam, amid tensions over the South China Sea.

The park's management said three factories were set on fire on Tuesday, but other reports put the figure as high as 15.

No casualties have been reported but officials said many arrests were made.

The protests came after China moved a drilling rig into waters claimed by Vietnam earlier this month.

In a daily press briefing, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Vietnam was a "provocateur" and that Beijing had expressed concern to Hanoi.

'Chinese targeted'
The management of the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) said that protesters gathered on Monday in Thuan An town, in the southern Binh Duong province.

On Tuesday they moved on to VSIP's two industrial parks nearby and targeted factories owned or managed by the Chinese and Chinese expatriates.

A spokesman for VSIP told the BBC the three factories were set on fire on Tuesday night after workers had gone home.

Not all of the tenants of the three factories were Chinese companies, she said. Some Taiwanese companies had been affected.

Other reports suggested the violence was more widespread, with more factories targeted.

A local official estimated that around 19,000 workers took part in the protest and that at least 15 factories were set on fire, according to local media.

One photo carried by Vietnamese media showed a factory had draped a South Korean flag at its entrance in a bid to stave off attacks.

The BBC also spoke to an employee of a Singaporean company in the industrial park who saw four burnt buildings on Wednesday morning.

Another eight were partially damaged, and had shattered windows and smashed front gates. These included buildings belonging to a Taiwan-founded shoe company.

"The protesters appeared to have targeted companies that had Chinese characters in their logos or signs," said the employee, who declined to be named.

The protest has spooked some foreign companies. Reuters reported that Hong Kong-listed sports shoe maker Yue Yuen, which supplies footwear to Adidas, Nike and other international brands, had suspended production in Vietnam.

'Provocative'
Earlier this month, China moved its Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig to a spot 120 nautical miles off the coast of Vietnam.

The area is near the Paracel Islands, over which China and Vietnam have contesting claims.

The move sparked bitter protest from the Vietnamese government, which demanded an immediate pull-out.

Last week, several collisions were reported between ships from the two countries as Vietnam sought to block the installation of the rig.

Ships have also been exchanging water cannon fire and dozens of vessels are reported to be in the area.

Protests have been staged in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City over the past week. Vietnamese activists marched to the Chinese embassy in Hanoi on Sunday and again on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the US warned China that its actions were "provocative".

In a telephone call, US Secretary of State John Kerry told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that the US had "strong concerns" over recent developments.

Mr Wang, meanwhile, urged Mr Kerry to be objective on the issue, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman said.

'Intentions not clear'
Beijing claims a U-shaped swathe of the South China Sea that covers areas other South East Asian nations say are their territory.

In this photo released by Vietnam Coast Guard, a Chinese ship, left, shoots water cannon at a Vietnamese vessel, right, while a Chinese Coast Guard ship, centre, sails alongside in the South China Sea, off Vietnam's coast, Wednesday, 7 May 2014
Ships from Vietnam and China have been exchanging water cannon fire
The issue has been rumbling in recent years amid an increasingly assertive stance from China over its claims.

The Philippines on Wednesday accused China of reclaiming land on a disputed South China Sea reef in order to build a new facility - possibly an airstrip or a military base.

Manila lodged a protest last month after images taken from the air showed China had been moving materials into Johnson Reef in the Spratly Islands, officials said.

"We're not exactly sure what are their intentions there," Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told the Associated Press news agency.

Ties between Beijing and Manila have deteriorated severely in recent months because of the territorial row.

Manila is taking Beijing to an international court over the issue. It also recently signed a security deal with the US allowing more troops onto its soil, in a move seen as reflecting the difficult ties with China.

Source: BBC NEWS

Vietnam Protesters Torch Chinese Factories over Territorial Dispute

Protesters in southern Vietnam have set fire to several Chinese factories over Beijing's decision to locate an oil rig in waters of the South China Sea also claimed by Hanoi.

The unrest began Tuesday in southern Binh Duong province, where thousands of workers walked out of their jobs and took part in mass anti-China rallies.

Video posted on social media showed large numbers of Vietnamese in work uniforms in front of factories with Chinese names, waving national flags, honking their motorbike horns and chanting anti-China slogans.

Officials at the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park say at least three Chinese-owned factories were set ablaze and looted. Other reports say as many as 12 factories were attacked. Other reports say as many as 12 factories were attacked. Some of the factories burned were Taiwanese-owned.

Many factories in the area remain closed Wednesday, as riot police tried to regain control of the situation. No injuries have been reported.

China's foreign ministry on Wednesday issued a travel advisory, warning Chinese citizens in Vietnam to "carefully consider travel plans and go with caution."

A witness, who wishes to remain anonymous, described a tumultuous scene in an interview with VOA’s Vietnamese Service.

“There are many people and it is totally chaotic. I do not know how to use words to describe it. I have not heard from the authorities so I do not know what is really going on,” said the witness.

Singapore's foreign ministry said it had called in Vietnam's ambassador to the city-state to register its concerns about the riots in the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks I and II, which are run by a joint venture between Vietnam's Becamex IDC Corporation and a Singapore consortium led by Sembcorp Development, part of Sembcorp Industries Ltd.

“MFA requests the Vietnamese government to act immediately to restore law and order in the two VSIPs before the security situation worsens and investor confidence is undermined,” the ministry said in a statement.

In an unusual move, Vietnam allowed anti-China protests to take place across Vietnam over the weekend, and its tightly-controlled state media were granted permission to report on the rallies.

While the general public welcome anti-China protests as the way to express patriotism, some warn against extreme approaches that could impact Vietnam’s economy.

Economist Nguyen Quang A said nationalism is running high in Vietnam, and he cautioned the way workers reacted.

“It is those workers who will suffer the most as they damaged factories where they work. Their actions will cause investors to lose trust in the business environment in Vietnam. They might leave Vietnam, affecting its economy. Moreover, crowds of hundreds even thousands of people will spark social unrest that could be out of control,” said Nguyen.

China has not commented on the latest protests.

At the just-concluded ASEAN summit in Burma, also known as Myanmar, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung accused Beijing of "extremely dangerous action" and called for the bloc to take a united stand on the issue.

But Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying responded by saying Hanoi's efforts to rally ASEAN against Beijing are bound to fail.

Secretary of State John Kerry Monday said the United States is "deeply concerned" by China's location of the oil rig. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Kerry told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a phone call the move was "provocative" and "aggressive."

In response, China's Foreign Ministry says Wang urged Kerry to "speak and act cautiously," saying he should be objective when talking about China.

Beijing last month moved the state-run oil rig to an area near the Paracel Islands, within what Vietnam considers its exclusive economic zone.

Chinese and Vietnamese ships have since clashed and sprayed water cannons at each other, raising fears of an all-out clash.

Source: VOA NEWS

Ternyata kelakuan orang vietnam juga 11-12 ama sini