Protests have escalated in Vietnam over China’s towing of an oil rig ‘inside’ the territorial waters of Vietnam in the South China Sea. According to Vietnam, the Chinese oil rig known as Haiyang Shiyou 98 is 80 nautical miles inside Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone. The Vietnamese government is calling China to withdraw the rig and its more than 80 escort naval ships.
The two countries have been disputing ownership of the Paracel islands in the South China Sea for many years already but the installation of the oil rig was so far China’s most daring attempt to assert control over the resource-rich waters.
China’s oil rig ignited an explosive protest movement across Vietnam. Many of these actions turned violent when workers burned China-owned factories in the southern provinces. Although many factories turned out to be Taiwanese and Korean investments.
As of May 16, 2014, Friday, authorities reported that 140,000 workers of 300 Taiwanese and Chinese companies in industrial parks had not got back to work yet. Fifteen factories were set on fire. About 140 Chinese nationals suffered injuries.
To control the situation, police officials said they arrested 1,000 persons for causing violence. China, for its part, evacuated many of its citizens out of the country; and it suspended some bilateral agreements it had with Vietnam.
The anti-China sentiment is so popular in Vietnam today that even hotels have placed public notices that they will not receive Chinese guests as long as the oil rig is inside Vietnam waters. This Twitter photo shows a shop with a poster informing potential customers that it does not sell Chinese goods.
The anti-China protests are louder and more widespread in the Internet. Vietnamese netizens used Facebook to create and spread memes criticizing China. Below are some of the widely shared graphics:
‘Get out of Vietnam’. From Facebook page of Vietmeme
But many netizens are also apologetic over the violent protests that erupted in many provinces. This meme shows several Vietnamese saying sorry for the violence that killed and injured scores of Chinese citizens:
Patrick Sharbaugh analyzed the online protest and its political impact:
Meanwhile, the Vietnam Path Movement is appealing for restraint and the use of non-violence methods in the protests:
The conflict is expected to continue between the two neighboring countries since China is firmly asserting that the oil rig will stay until August.
This article was originally published on Global Voices.
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