ACTIVISTS in Vietnam held a brief rally outside the Philippine Embassy in Hanoi Sunday, holding up a banner that said “Thank you Philippines. Vietnam protests. Vietnam and China frequently trade diplomatic barbs over the disputed Paracel island chain and waters in the South China Sea. Beijing lays claim to virtually all of the South China Sea, putting it at odds with regional neighbors the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, which also have partial claims. The case was brought by the Philippines but the ruling has been a boon for other regional countries like Vietnam who also have competing claims to the strategic sea.

Source: The Standard July 17, 2016 16:02 UTC