DHAKA: China says its oil rig will continue drilling in contested waters in the South China Sea, despite deadly anti-Beijing riots in Vietnam.

Top General Fang Fenghui said Beijing could not "afford to lose an inch" of territory, blaming Hanoi for stirring up trouble in the region.

Speaking in the US, he also warned that America's efforts to increase its focus on Asia were fuelling tensions.

A Chinese worker died in an attack on a steel mill in Vietnam on Wednesday.

Almost 150 other people were injured as protesters targeted the Taiwanese mill in the central Ha Tinh province.

On Tuesday, at least 15 foreign-owned factories were set on fire at industrial parks in Binh Duong province, and hundreds more attacked. No casualties were reported.

The protests have been triggered by China's decision to move its Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig into waters west of the disputed Paracel Islands earlier this month.

This triggered confrontations between Vietnamese and Chinese ships as Hanoi sought to block the move.

Nationalist sentiment is currently running very high in Vietnam over the issue, correspondents say, reports the BBC.

BDST: 1303 HRS, MAY 16, 2014