Foreign Minister David Lin is calling on the Vietnamese government to protect Republic of China nationals and Taiwan business owners in the South East Asian country following anti-China riots yesterday.

Speaking during a press conference earlier, Lin said the island’s trade office in Ho Chi Minh City has been asked to check on the safety of R.O.C. nationals in Vietnam.

According to Lin, flights will be available if and when an evacuation of R.O.C. nationals or Taiwan business owners is necessary with both China Airlines and EVA Airways adding extra flights if necessary.

Lin went on to reiterate that Taiwan is not a province of China and that Taipei is not a party to any actions Beijing may or may not have taken.

Reports says two R.O.C. nationals were injured during yesterday’s protests.

According a Taiwan business owner in Vietnam, 10 Taiwan-owned factories and businesses were set on fire during the protests and 240 Vietnam-based R.O.C. nationals are currently living in a hotel for safety.

The Tourism Bureau says it has not received any reports of any of the 290 R.O.C. tourists in five tour groups being affected by the riots.

Bureau officials say most of the tourists are traveling in northern parts of Vietnam – far from where the riots have been reported.

However, the Tourism Bureau says it is continuing to monitor the situation.

The government has raised its travel alert to yellow for R.O.C. nationals planning to travel in Vietnam.

The riots were sparked by Beijing’s deploying of an oil rig in disputed waters off the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea – a move that has led to Vietnamese anger towards China reaching its highest level in years.

Foreign ministry officials say protesters could not tell Taiwanese businesses from Chinese ones and destroyed any stores and facilities that have Chinese-language signs.

Image via VOA