Over 3000 Chinese Evacuated (By Boat & Plane) As Vietnam's Anti-China Riots Escalate

Zero Hedge ^ | 05/18/2014 | Tyler Durden

[SeekAndFind]

China began evacuating hundreds of its nationals from Vietnam (via at least 2 planes and 5 ships) as the anti-China protests have become increasingly deadly following Beijing's attempt to deploy an oil drill in Vietnamese dispuited waters (detailed here, here, here, and here)...

• *CHINA SENDING 5 SHIPS TO VIETNAM TO EVACUATE CHINESE: XINHUA
• *HUNDREDS OF VIETNAMESE SECURITY IN CENTRAL HO CHI MINH CITY
• *VIETNAM PRIME MINISTER ISSUES DIRECTIVE TO PREVENT PROTESTS
• *VIETNAM GOVT TAKES ACTION TO PREVENT RIOTS: BINH

Hundreds of police and security forces are in central Ho Chi Minh city and the Chinese consulate is under heavy guard. Tensions across the ASEAN region are growung as Taiwan is on "high alert" but the bloc’s inability to craft a united response to Chinese aggression signals a further decline in its regional clout.

 

 

Anti-China protests in #Vietnam: ST reader Ben Beo was at the scene last night & took this pix http://t.co/hIVx5U1P0R pic.twitter.com/cKHl031ilF

— ST Foreign Desk (@STForeignDesk) May 14, 2014

 

The Vietnamese government has called for an end to the protests...

Vietnam's prime minister appealed for calm last night ahead of expected anti-China demonstrations in Ho Chi Minh City today.

 

A text message from Nguyen Tan Dung was sent to every cellphone in the country urging citizens not to "commit violations of the law" in defence of the "sovereignty of the sacred fatherland".

 

His office also ordered the police and local leaders to halt further illegal demonstrations. His plea came after China's deployment of an oil rig in the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea unleashed a wave of deadly protests.

But the Chinese are clearly not leaving anything to chance... (Via PTI)

More than 3,000 Chinese nationals have been evacuated so far from Vietnam after the recent deadly violence, China's Foreign Ministry said today.

 

They returned to China with the assistance of Chinese Embassy to Vietnam, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release.

 

China says two of its nationals were killed in the violence and more than 100 others injured while the official death toll was put at 21.

Via 2 Planes...

China S Airlines on Sun will arrange two Airbus A320 fly btw to Vinh City - Guangzhou to transport about 300 Chinese nationals back to China

— People's Daily,China (@PDChina) May 17, 2014

and 5 ships...

China is to send five ships to Vietnam today to evacuate Chinese nationals after protests against Chinese in the country last week, the official Xinhua News Agency reports in a one-paragraph report, citing the Ministry of Transport

The official death toll is unclear...

• *VIETNAM CONFIRMS 2 CHINESES DIE IN RIOT, ABOUT 140 INJURED

The tension is spreading across the ASEAN region...

*TAIWAN ON HIGH ALERT OVER PROTESTS IN VIETNAM TODAY

 

And the lackluster response from ASEAN is extremely serious... (via The Diplomat)

As Vietnamese and Chinese ships jostled and fired water cannons at each other – the best ASEAN could do was issue another summit statement urging restraint and expressing “serious concern,” timidly avoiding any mention of China.

 

Furious protesters have trashed 15 Chinese factories in Vietnam, forcing Chinese investors and tourists to flee across the border and into the safety of Cambodia. Golfers in Danang reported fighter jets overhead, heading out to sea.

 

Observers said it was the first time Vietnam had allowed the state-run press to freely cover the protests, which the government also allowed to proceed. However, Singapore-based Channel News Asia was taken off the air after flagging a report on the protests.

 

At least 200 people have been arrested and the Vietnamese government has pledged to crack down on hooliganism.

 

“It is clear that China’s new assertiveness is triggering anxieties among its neighbors,” said  Ernest Bower, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

 

ASEAN has long been ridiculed as a toothless tiger and its behavior amid the current standoff between China and Vietnam – perhaps the greatest challenge to face the group – only reinforces the claims.

 

If ASEAN genuinely wants to be taken seriously, now might be an appropriate time for a united public front on China’s territorial ambitions in the seas that divide the bloc’s 10 nations. If it is unable to do that, then individual member states face the daunting task of dealing with Beijing on their own, further relegating ASEAN to the political sidelines and undermining its diplomatic credentials.

 

The bloc’s inability to craft a united response to Chinese aggression signals a further decline in its regional clout.

 

[SeekAndFind]

[JimSEA]

Our great leader is playing golf.

[Mmogamer]

Ted Kennedy would be proud of the legacy he and the traitorous dims wrought in Vietnam.

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

We should consider the possibility that Chicom agents of influence may be involved in escalating these protests to begin with. Their riots are, after all, a reaction to Chinese provocation in the first place. It would not surprise me then if the Chicoms have people on the ground who are also trying to whip up the provocation they caused to even more dangerous levels.

The Chinese and Russians work together more than people realize, and if Russia intends on beginning a conflict in its sphere, we can expect China to do the same in theirs. If we suddenly hear talk of full blown military action to defend ethnic Chinese minorities, don’t think it is a coincidence.

[TigersEye]

Was it something they said?

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks SeekAndFind.

[lee martell]

The Vietnamese don’t play that sh#t. This is a country that does everything with a raw passion. Many Vietnamese immigrants succeed in this country because they are so tenacious. Their survival instinct is quite an active part of daily life, not just something in a dusty history book.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Wonder if we will see photos of helicopters on rooftops loading up.

[Mark17]

If we suddenly hear talk of full blown military action to defend ethnic Chinese minorities, don’t think it is a coincidence.

Interesting point. It might be called a deliberate coincidence. If it is, we have seen this dog and pony show before. Can you say Sudetenland?

[DIRTYSECRET]

China got it’s butt kicked in 79’.

[wideawake]

China took more casualties than they ever planned, but even more importantly, they were outsmarted.

[Vince Ferrer]

Interesting theory, but I don’t think this is the case. The Vietnamese were burning down everything that had a sign with Chinese characters, including Taiwanese companies, who aren’t involved. If it were a Chinese operation, it would be more organized.

[Ronin]

The amazing thing in my mind is that China had the audacity to just tow that rig in and assume that Vietnam would roll over and let them get away with it. That was not a well-thought-out plan of action.

ASEAN has been under China’s thumb for a while, and collectively not very willing to rock the boat, but individual ASEAN nations are far more worried about China’s expansionist and hegemonic tendencies. Japan has it’s own issues with China, and is watching these developments with a lot of interest, but not much in the way of accompanying action yet, because Tokyo does not want to be seen as stirring the pot.

[PotatoHeadMick]

I think over the course of the past two hundred years China has had its butt kicked by just about any foreign power it tried to take on.

In a non-scientific poll I think that includes France, Britain, the US, Japan, India, Vietnam and maybe Russia.

The question has to be asked given China’s utterly lamentable record at fighting foreigners, even tiny nations like Vietnam just recovering from four decades of war, why on earth do the Chinese think they could win this time?

[Moonman62]

The question has to be asked given China’s utterly lamentable record at fighting foreigners, even tiny nations like Vietnam just recovering from four decades of war, why on earth do the Chinese think they could win this time?

China's been providing outsourced slave labor to the world for decades now and making a lot of money from it. Perhaps they feel like Big Cotton taking on the Union.

[DoughtyOne]

You can count on that.  And you can add McStain to the list, as he almost single-handedly ramroded MFN thorugh for Vietnam, over the objections of veterans and the family members of our man MIA.


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[Eric in the Ozarks]

Perhaps the Philippines is next.
Lots of Chinese shop keepers and business execs from China in the P.I.

[b4its2late]

Vietnam’s got balls... Unlike 0.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Perhaps the Philippines is next.
Lots of Chinese shop keepers and business execs from China in the P.I.

______________________

I doubt that would happen. I’ve lived and worked in that country on and off and speak the Filipino language.

There has NEVER been a case of mass anger or riot against Chinese in this country, simply because the Chinese have INTEGRATED well in Philippine society and are so well entrenched in the place that you can hardly differentiate a Chinese from China or a Philippine born Chinese.

In fact, many Filipinos are now of MIXED race.

Consider this — The former Cardinal of the Philippines, Jaime Sin ( is of Chinese ancestry ). The current President of the Philippines, Aquino has Chinese ancestry. The former mayor of Manila, Alfredo Lim is of Chinese ancestry. Most of the businesses large and small were started by Chinese who employ millions of Filipinos ( and Chinese as well ).

If any, they Filipinos may be able to use the Chinese in the Philippines to help blunt aggression from China through diplomacy.