IT'S MINE! GIVE IT BACK!
In early May 2014, a Chinese oil company decided to place an oil rig in the South China Sea. Vietnam is against this move because it says it is illegal for China to do that. China thinks it has every right to do so. Both China and Vietnam say that the area of the sea where the oil rig has been placed belongs to them. There is now a dispute between the two countries.
Where is the rig?
The oil rig is placed about 120 miles from Vietnam's Ly Son Island and 180 miles from China's Hainan Island. It is only 17 miles from one of the Paracel Islands which China claims as its own. So China says that it has the right to place the oil rig there, close to the island.
When the Chinese rig was brought to its location by naval ships and fighter jets, it attracted the attention of Vietnamese boats which gathered there. According to Vietnam, the Chinese vessels rammed and attacked its boats with water cannons. China says they were harassed by the Vietnamese boats and had to act.
A China Coast Guard ship (left) uses a water cannon on a Vietnamese ship in the South China Sea. AFP PHOTO/VIETNAMESE FOREIGN MINISTRY
Anger on the streets of Vietnam
Angry Vietnamese protestors attacked hundreds of foreign-owned businesses in Vietnam, especially those owned by China and Taiwan. They smashed down gates and set fire to businesses and even attacked Chinese people. Thousands of Chinese have escaped from Vietnam by plane and ship.
Protesters gather on a street outside a China-owned factory in Vietnam. AFP PHOTO / VNExpress
Other countries like the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan also claim part of the South China Sea as theirs. Government officials from ASEAN countries are concerned about the ongoing dispute over which island belongs to whom.
Featured image: Chinese citizens evacuated from Vietnam arrive in China on May 20, 2014. More than 3,500 Chinese citizens were evacuated from Vietnam by sea. CHINA OUT /AFP PHOTO
