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May 18, 2014

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Hanoi 鈥榓ccountable鈥 for attacks on Chinese

VIETNAM should take tough measures to end the violence against Chinese workers and punish all rioters involved in the recent fatal attacks in the country, China’s top public security official said yesterday.

Hanoi said earlier that one person was killed in riots on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“The Vietnamese government should be accountable for the violent attacks on Chinese companies and staff,” Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun was quoted saying in a telephone call with Tran Dai Quang, his opposite number in Vietnam.

“We are strongly dissatisfied with the Vietnamese side’s failure to respond effectively to curb an escalation of the situation,” he said, adding that there had been large numbers of casualties.

Thousands of Vietnamese rioters attacked Chinese-owned enterprises and workers earlier this week. Taiwan-based firms bore the brunt of the violence after the mobs assumed they were owned by businessmen from China’s mainland. Hong Kong-based firms were also hit.

China’s Foreign Ministry said yesterday that people should avoid traveling to Vietnam, while those already in the country should remain in their homes.

Tran said Hanoi has mobilized large numbers of police to restore calm.

Working groups from the two countries on Friday held talks in Hanoi. The Chinese group was led by Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jianchao.

Liu said that Chinese nationals and companies had been the victims of violence, vandalism, looting and arson.

China attaches great importance to the safety of its people and strongly urges the Vietnamese side to take action to deal with the aftermath of the riots, he said.

For his part, Vietnam’s Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh reiterated his regret at the loss of life and property suffered by Chinese people.

In the wake of the attacks, Hanoi took immediate action to strengthen the protection of Chinese firms and personnel, and will continue to do so, he said.

Dang Van Hieu, Vietnam’s deputy public security minister, said on Friday that more than 1,000 suspects have been arrested in relation to the attacks and will be dealt with according to the law.

The anti-China attacks began after Vietnamese ships harassed the normal operations of a Chinese oil company in waters about 27 kilometers from China’s Xisha Islands and 241 kilometers from Vietnam in the South China Sea.

From May 3-7, Vietnam dispatched 36 vessels, which rammed Chinese boats.

A Chinese firm was carrying out oil drilling activities in the Xisha Islands and contiguous zone, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry said on May 7 that Hanoi “cannot accept China’s illegal drilling rig HD-981,” describing it as an infringement of its sovereignty.


 

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