CHINA said today that it had dispatched a passenger ship capable of carrying 1,000 people to Vietnam, the first of five vessels it plans to send to complete an evacuation.

Over 3,000 Chinese nationals have already left the country.

Vietnam smothered continuing anti-China protests with a massive security clampdown yesterday after deadly riots triggered by a territorial dispute with Beijing.

In Ho Chi Minh city, police detained several demonstrators in a park near the city's cathedral. 

And authorities in Hanoi closed off streets as well as a park close to the Chinese embassy.

China's decision to deploy a massive oil rig on May 1 triggered fury in Vietnam and the worst breakdown in ties between Hanoi and Beijing in years.

Anti-China protests last weekend drew thousands of people and by Tuesday the rallies had turned into riots in which two Chinese nationals were killed and more than 100 wounded.