Vietnam's 'Thanh Nien' newspaper on May 23 reported that a 67-year-old Vietnamese woman had died after setting herself on fire at 6 am earlier that morning in front of Reunification Palace in downtown Ho Chi Minh City in protest against China's deployment of an oil rig in waters claimed by Hanoi.

The paper quoted Le Truong Hai Hieu, a top city official, as saying police recovered a plastic container possibly containing fuel, a lighter and seven handwritten banners saying among other things: "Demand unity to smash the Chinese invasion plot" and "Support Vietnamese coast guards and fishermen."