At least 20 workers have been killed as anti-China protests continue near Ho Chi Minh City in the most serious outbreak of public disorder in years.

The mobs who burned and looted foreign-owned factories are angry about a Chinese oil rig drilling in waters they claim belong to Vietnam.

Taiwanese and South Korean companies bore the brunt of the attacks, along with a Japanese school, as rioters apparently mistook them to be Chinese-owned.

Beijing and Hanoi have each accused the other of ramming its ships near the disputed islands.

Chinese ships continue to prevent Vietnamese vessels from getting anywhere near the platform.

China claims almost the entire mineral-rich South China Sea and says the oil is completely in its waters.

Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam all have claims on the area.