Around two hundred Filipino and Vietnamese protesters marched toward the Chinese consulate in Makati, the Philippines' central business district, on Friday.

The protesters, comprised of Filipino activists including a number of Filipino politicians and approximately 50 Vietnamese nationals, clamored for China to stop its oil drilling operations in the South China Sea.

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The Filipino and Vietnamese protesters held signs that read "Vietnam-Philippines join hands to kick off China," "China Stop Bullying Vietnam and the Philippines" and "We Support Vietnam."

Some protesters donned turtle costumes symbolic of the charges filed by the Philippines earlier this week against nine Chinese fishing boat crew members for poaching protected sea turtles in the disputed areas.

The Makati protest came following the deadly riots in Vietnam earlier this week due to rising tensions caused by China's deploymnent of a deep-sea oil drilling rig over a portion of the South China Sea being claimed by both Hanoi and Beijing.

Philippine anti-riot police were stationed in front of the high-rise building where the Chinese consulate was located to discourage and prevent any unruly or violent conduct.

"We are here to protest what China is doing against Vietnam. We need to call on the support of local and international friends," Arya Nguyen, a Philippine-based Vietnamese, told the AFP.

Filipinos Congressman Walden Bello said they mounted the peaceful protest to ask China to refrain from proactive moves and instead live up to its commitment to negotiate a code of conduct in the disputed territory.

The South China Sea forms part of the Pacific Ocean and is located south of China, west of the Philippines, east of Vietnam and north of Brunei. The contested waters and its minute islands are subject to competing claims by Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan.

TagsTerritorial, Dispute, Vietnam, Activist, Protest, Rally, Oil rig