Protesters waving Vietnamese national flags in Hong Kong (Photo: Reuters)

On May 25, around 200 people marched peacefully in Hong Kong to protest against China’s placement of Haiyang Shiyou-981 drilling rig in Vietnam’s waters.

The Reuters news agency reported that the protesters, many of them Vietnamese residents now living in Hong Kong, and other supporters, marched peacefully. The route was from the government’s headquarters to a branch office of China's foreign ministry waving Vietnam’s national flag, singing the national anthem and clamorously shouting Vietnamese slogans.

The protesters were led by a young Vietnamese man holding a portrait of President Ho Chi Minh.

“China, the whole world knows, is now invading into our territorial waters … We love our country,” said one of the protest organisers, Mo Pak-fung.

“We are coming out today because we hope China will leave Vietnam … We don't want a war to occur,” added Mo, who comes from Vietnam but has lived in Hong Kong for the past 25 years.

Protesters in Hong Kong waved several banners reading, “We love peace. Withdraw 981 drilling rig out of Vietnam's sea”, and “We need help from international communities”, the Reuters article reported.

In recent times, members of overseas Vietnamese communities across the globe have raised strong objections to China due to its illegal placement of a drilling rig and a large number of surrounding vessels into the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of Vietnam./.