Taipei Times
Date: Jun 28, 2015
By: Lo Tien-pin and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The government is on alert as tensions between China and Vietnam are again on the rise due to Beijing’s unilateral decision to resume the installation of oil rigs in the South China Sea, officials said yesterday.

Taiwanese businesses with investments in Vietnam are afraid of a repeat of the anti-China riots in May last year, officials said.

Riots broke out when China moved the Haiyang Shiyou 981 near the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島) in May last year, which the Vietnamese government protested as a violation of Vietnamese territorial claims, while China said the move was legal as the islands were under its military control.

Many Taiwanese businesses in Vietnam suffered break-ins and robberies, as well as arson due to anti-Chinese sentiment.

Taiwan also claims sovereignty of the Paracel Islands in the dispute over maritime boundaries and territories in the South China Sea.     [FULL  STORY]