Vietnam has arrested several people in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City after attempting to ignite another round of protest against China, witnesses said. The country's rulers have begun cracking down on rallies after riots broke out in three provinces in the southern and central regions of the country.

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The major cities in Vietnam were filled with police on Sunday as Vietnam seeks to prevent anti-China protests. Beijing, on the other hand, has evacuated over 3,000 citizens in the wake of a deadly riot last week sparked by a South China Sea territorial dispute between the two countries, wrote Reuters.

Chinese businesses and workers in Vietnam have also been attacked by locals who sought to express their rage over the dispute.

Almost 300 injured Chinese were brought home to Chengdu on Sunday via two chartered flights. Meanwhile, Xinhua news agency said five ships were launched to bring more Chinese citizens home from Vietnam.

Vietnam's anger has been ignited after Chinese state energy company CNOOC sent dozens of ships and an oil rig a couple of weeks ago to a spot 150 miles from Vietnam's coast, which is being claimed by both countries. This move is seen as one of the most aggressive moves that China has made in sea territory believed to hold oil reserves worth billions.

The move also comes just a few days after US President Barack Obama visited several of its allies in Asia involved in territorial spats with China. An official based in Washington said China's move was indeed "provocative" and that its strained relations with its nearest neighbors could affect its ties with the US.

Last week, Vietnam had allowed its citizens to conduct protests, in a move that contradicts its usual practice of suppressing them. However, when a peaceful march turned into a riot that involved burning and looting of Chinese and Taiwanese factories, the country's communist rulers sought to put a stop to it.

According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei, the deadly violence that erupted on May 13 has "destroyed" the path toward bilateral cooperation between the two nations. In light of this, the ministry has also issued a travel advice telling its citizens to temporarily hold off their trips to Vietnam.