Anti-China mobs torched up to 15 foreign-owned factories and trashed many more in southern Vietnam amid rising anger over a Chinese oil drilling platform deployed near the Paracel islands. (Courtesy photos taken in Binh Duong & Dong Nai Province)
Police in Ho Chi Minh City broke up an anti-China rally on Sunday, as Beijing continued the evacuation of thousands of its citizens from Vietnam.
Security forces also converged on other major cities after about 150 workers were injured at a steel plant in Ha Tinh province in a protest against China's move to install an oil rig in waters claimed by Vietnam.
As patrol ships from both countries remained locked in a standoff close to the oil rig, Beijing said it has evacuated 3,000 Chinese citizens, including 16 nationals who were critically injured in last week's rampage. Beijing says it is sending five ships to bring anyone home who wants to leave.
The Hanoi government vowed Saturday to head off any further violence. Vietnam's lead police investigator also sought to defend security forces against charges of failing to curb the unrest. Lieutenant-General Hoang Kong Tu spoke a day ahead of expected anti-China protests in several Vietnamese cities. He said illegal acts will not be tolerated.
Analysts say the crisis has spawned the worst diplomatic breakdown between the two communist neighbors since a brief border war in early 1979.
Chinese claims to large swaths of the South China Sea have ratcheted up tensions across the region and triggered diplomatic and naval confrontations with the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia and Brunei.
The United States has repeatedly blamed Beijing for the rising tensions, and Thursday U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told a top Chinese military official that Beijing's actions are dangerous. The Chinese general told Biden that Beijing will not back down.
Last month, President Barack Obama reassured U.S. allies in the region that Washington will stand by its commitments to help defend them. China claims that message is encouraging Vietnam and other governments to confront Beijing.
