AP News, December 9th, 2007
Several hundred Vietnamese staged a rare public demonstration Sunday to protest China's effort to claim control of two disputed island chains in the South China Sea.
The demonstrators, mostly university students, gathered near the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi and chanted "Down with China!" and "Long Live Vietnam!"
Police let the demonstration continue for about an hour before breaking it up.
The protesters were supporting the government's position that Vietnam has sovereignty over the Spratly and Paracel islands, a contentious issue between Vietnam and China for years.
The largely uninhabited islands and surrounding waters are believed to have large oil and natural gas reserves. They straddle busy sea lanes and are rich fishing grounds.
Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei also claim sovereignty over all or some of the Spratlys.
The demonstrators were protesting the Chinese legislature's recent ratification of a plan to create a symbolic administrative region called Sansha to manage three archipelagos, including the Paracels and the Spratlys.
"The whole world knows that these islands belong to Vietnam," said Le Duc Hung, a 24-year-old Web designer. "We must do something to show our sovereignty over these islands."
On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China had "indisputable sovereignty" over the islands.
Demonstrations are extremely rare in Vietnam, where the Communist government exerts tight control over political expression.
When the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, police allowed several hundred students to protest.
Vietnamese farmers have also held occasional protests in recent years, saying the government seized their land for development without compensating them fairly.
