Vietnamese protest in Seoul against China's East Sea moves

The protest took place at 1:30 p.m, in front of the Seoul post office, near China's Embassy in South Korea. As many as 200 people took part in the event.

The protest was co-organized by the Association of Vietnamese people, Vietnamese Women and Vietnamese students in South Korea. 

Tran Hai Linh, head of the Vietnamese community in South Korea, said: “We are here today to demonstrate our great solidarity, firmly opposing the recent activities of China which violate Vietnam’s sovereignty over the sea and islands.”

The community also sent a Common Declaration (in Vietnamese, English, Korean and Chinese) to China's Embassy in South Korea, requesting the Chinese administration immediately stop illegal activities in the East Sea.

A wide range of people, from intellectuals, students, laborers to Korean-Vietnamese families joined in the protest.

The community displayed large banners proclaiming “Paracel islands and Spratly islands belong to Vietnam” and “China, stop militarization in the East Vietnam Sea”. 

This is the second time the Vietnamese community in South Korea has staged a protest against China.

In May 2014, the community led protests against China’s illegal deployment of a giant oil rig to Vietnamese waters in the East Vietnam Sea.