Hanoi: Vietnam has expelled a US national whom it suspects of attempting to "sabotage" the Beijing Olympic torch relay here next week using T-shirts, state media reported today.

Voice of Vietnam radio said Vuong Hoang Minh, a US national of Vietnamese origin, was thrown out of the country yesterday.

The Hanoi Moi daily said he had been picked up on arrival at Ho Chi Minh City airport in possession of a number of T-shirts bearing messages "inciting sabotage of the relay."

The US embassy in Hanoi was not immediately able to confirm the reports.

The torch will be paraded through the southern city of Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon, on Tuesday.

Vietnamese authorities have vowed to ensure the relay passes off smoothly, after previous legs, notably in London and Paris, were severely disrupted by critics of China's rule in Tibet and its human rights record.

Security forces here are already on high alert for protesters inspired by Vietnam's own dispute with China over the Spratly and Paracel archipelagos in the South China Sea.

The expelled US national, Vuong Hoang Minh, is a registered member of the People's Democratic Party, according to its website and press reports.

It is one of several outlawed pro-democracy groups here that has issued an online call for peaceful protests against the relay over the disputed island chains as well as Tibet.

Source : PTI