Vietnam marks 40th anniversary of China's invasion of Paracel Islands
Conflict with China in 1974 over the contested Paracel Islands marked for first time by Hanoi
Activists chanted anti-China slogans and laid flowers yesterday at a protest in Hanoi marking the 40th anniversary of the Chinese invasion of contested islands in the South China Sea.
In 1974, as US troops withdrew from Vietnam, China invaded the Paracel Islands, called the Xisha Islands by Beijing and the Hoang Sa Islands by Hanoi. The islands had been held by the US-backed South Vietnamese regime.
More than 70 Vietnamese soldiers died during the invasion. China has controlled the island chain ever since.
While overseas Vietnamese groups and dissidents have traditionally marked the battle, it was the first time that Hanoi had marked the anniversary of the battle, apparently seeking to boost its legitimacy at home as tensions over the disputed waters flare anew.
The two countries are locked in long-standing territorial disputes over the Paracel and Spratly islands, which both claim, and often trade diplomatic barbs over oil exploration and fishing rights in the contested waters.
Dozens of activists laid flowers at a statue of Ly Thai To, the founder of Hanoi and a nationalist figurehead, in the capital.
Activists waved banners and shouted "Hoang Sa [Paracels], Truong Sa [Spratlys] belong to Vietnam!" before hundreds of uniformed and plainclothes police forced them to leave the area.