Vietnam protests Chinese hospital ship deployed in South China Sea

FILE - An aerial view of Qilianyu islands in the Paracel chain, which China considers part of Hainan province, on Aug. 10, 2018. Paracel Islands

Vietnam protested what is said was China’s violation of its sovereignty after Beijing dispatched a navy hospital ship to the Paracels, a group of small coral islands and reefs in the South China Sea currently occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.