Vietnamese In Japan Rally Against China

About 200 Vietnamese marched through the streets of Tokyo on Saturday to protest against China in a territorial dispute over island groups in the South China Sea.

Chanting "Don't kill fishermen in Vietnam!" in Japanese, the predominantly young protesters walked several kilometres from the fashionable district of Roppongi to another trendy area, Ebisu.

They did not go close to the Chinese embassy in the area.

Organisers, who identify themselves in Japanese as the "Association of Vietnamese to Protect Peace in the South China Sea", said it was the first time Vietnamese living in Japan had staged a demonstration in the country.

"The demonstration was held peacefully," said an official at the local Azabu Police Station, estimating the number of participants at 180.

The rally followed a recent wave of rare public demonstrations in communist Vietnam following the maritime row with China over the potentially oil-rich Paracel and Spratly archipelagos and surrounding waters.

Information about the Tokyo demonstration was spread on Facebook.

Many of the protesters wore T-shirts emblazoned with the Vietnamese national flag.

Some banners read in English: "China, stop violating territory of neighbours" and "Chinese way of thinking: What's mine is mine. What's yours is ours."

Tensions have heightened in recent weeks in the South China Sea.

Vietnam has held live-fire military exercises after accusing Chinese ships of ramming one oil survey ship and cutting the exploration cables of another.

China staged its own three days of military exercises in the area, which state media said were aimed at boosting the country's offshore maritime patrol force.

- By Agence France-Presse

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