VIET NAM, Hanoi : Protesters shout anti-China slogans as they march toward the Chinese embassy in Hanoi on July 1, 2012. About 100 Vietnamese staged an anti-China protest in the Vietnamese capital after the China National Offshore Oil Corporation opened last week nine offshore oil blocks which, according to Hanoi, lie on Vietnam's 200-mile exclusive economic zone, to foreign companies. Vietnamese government said this Chinese act violated its sovereignty. AFP / HOANG DINH Nam
HANOI, Vietnam – Vietnamese have marched through Hanoi’s streets shouting “down with China!” in a rare protest Sunday following a week of growing tensions over disputed territory in the South China Sea.
About 200 people waved flags and chanted in the rain as they walked through the center of the capital toward the Chinese Embassy. Police stopped traffic and did not attempt to quash the demonstration, but the area near the embassy was cordoned off.
The protest follows an announcement by China that it will open nine oil and gas lots to international bidders, even though the area overlaps with Vietnam’s current exploration contracts.
Hanoi has protested the plan. China, Vietnam and other Asian countries claim sovereignty over areas of the sea believed to be rich in oil and gas reserves.