FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Raids by police are not uncommon in Vietnam but visits to bookshops to confiscate issues of travel guide Lonely Planet are unusual.

The guidebook has raised the ire of authorities because its maps mention the South China Sea, which in Vietnam is firmly referred to as the East Sea (China calls it the South Sea).

The vast oil, gas and fish-rich area and the Spratly and Paracel islands are contested by Vietnam and China. The Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia also lay partial claim to the area.

Read more from Helen Clark in the Sydney Morning Herald.