Over 250 additional events were added to the ACLED Vietnam dataset, nearly tripling the number of political violence, protest, and non-violent events in Vietnam coded by ACLED. The new data supplements pre-released data by reporting underrepresented event types, in particular violence against civilians, and increasing ACLED coverage of previously under-reported areas, particularly in the north of the country. The new release also adds five years (2010-2015) of backcoding to the dataset, more than doubling the timespan of coverage.
Notably, the new release of backcoded Vietnam data highlights two peaks in Vietnam’s political violence and protest landscape: Hmong ethnic riots in May 2011, and anti-China protests in May 2014. While nine discrete events, all riots and protests, were reported in May 2011, the month had the highest reported fatality count — 63 — of any month in the newly updated Vietnam dataset. The reported deaths occurred as a result of the government’s crackdown on demonstrations from the majority-Christian Hmong ethnic group in Muong Nhe. Three years later, in May 2014, over 20 recorded anti-China riots and protests erupted against China’s deployment of an oil rig in a disputed region of the South China sea. The demonstrations spread around the country and resulted in over 20 reported fatalities.
