By ANTARA News
Vietnam’s government will provide compensation for factory owners, whose buildings were damaged in anti-China protests in several cities in Vietnam on May 13-14, Vietnam Ambassador to Indonesia Nguyen Xuan Thuy said here on Tuesday.
A general view shows damage inflicted upon a factory building in Binh Duong on May 14, 2014, as anti-China protesters set more than a dozen factories on fire in Vietnam, according to state media, in an escalating backlash against Beijing’s deployment of an oil rig in contested waters. Workers looted goods and attacked offices in a rare outburst of public unrest on May 13 in the authoritarian communist nation, which allowed mass anti-China rallies around Vietnam at the weekend. (Photo: VNExpress/AFP/Getty Images)
Reports stated that the riots occurred as a result of Chinas oil and gas drilling activity in the disputed area of Hoang Sa archipelago in the South China Sea, which both China and Vietnam claimed to be their territory. Two Chinese nationals were killed and about 140 injured during the riots.
“The local governments where the riots took place will give compensation to owners of the damaged factories. Shortly after the May 13 incident, we had deployed security personnel at the Chinese factories in areas, such as Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Ha Tinh. We also arrested those who tried to provoke violence,” the ambassador said when interviewed at his residence in Central Jakarta.
According to Thuy, the anti-China riots that occurred in several areas in Vietnam recently were not sponsored by the government, but rather they were patriotic acts of the citizens.
“Sadly, some people took advantage of the patriotic protests and provoked people to become violent,” the ambassador said, adding that the damage suffered by the Chinese-owned factories included damaged entrance gates and transportation facilities.
Thuy reiterated the Vietnamese governments commitment to ensuring the safety of foreign enterprises and its staff working in Vietnam. He also called on foreign countries that had businesses in Vietnam to encourage their businessmen to stay in Vietnam and resume the production or investments in Vietnam.
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