China urges Vietnam to halt further demos over disputed islands.

BEIJING, Dec. 18 Kyodo

China on Tuesday made a fresh appeal to Vietnam to stop anti-Chinese demonstrations after a second series of protests over a group of disputed islands in the South China Sea were held over the weekend.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said that if Vietnam did not halt the demonstrations, relations between the two countries could be harmed.

Several hundred demonstrators marched near the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi and its consulate in Ho Ch Minh City on Sunday, protesting against China's claim to the Spratly and Paracel islands, Vietnamese news reports said.

Vietnam also claims the islands and the protestors were angered by China's recent decision to set up an administrative region whose area will include the archipelagos' surrounding waters.

Many of the protestors wore matching shirts during the protests, with the words ''China hegemony jeopardizes Asia'' and ''Beware of the invasion'' printed on them, according to Vietnamese news reports. Similar protests were also held in the two cities a week earlier.

Qin said, ''We are monitoring this at the highest level. We request that Vietnam's government take effective measures to stop this from developing and to safeguard our two countries' stable ties.''

Analysts say demonstrations in Vietnam are extremely rare as political dissent is tightly controlled, but the government has formally denied orchestrating the protests.

The disputed islands' waters are thought to have extensive oil and gas reserves and have been a source of dispute between China and Vietnam for decades.