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.

Read more: globalvoicesonline.org Written by Mong Palatino