World War III Rumors As Alleged U.S.-China Covert War Escalates: Zhejiang Blast U.S. Retaliatory Strike After Tokyo Attack, Conspiracy Theorists Say

Following reports of a fourth industrial explosion that occurred at a chemical plant in the Zhejiang province of China on Monday, conspiracy theorists have stepped up claims that the U.S. and China are embroiled in a secret war, sparked off by a Pentagon “kinetic energy weapon” strike that allegedly caused the August Tianjin explosion, in which more than 160 people have died.

Reuters reports that according to the Chinese state media, an explosion ripped through a chemical plant in Lishui city, Zhejiang Province on Monday, September 7, shortly after midnight.

Witnesses reported that the blast caused thick smoke and flames that rose up in the air about 100 meters, and a fire that raged “fiercely.”

According to rumors making the rounds in the conspiracy theory blogosphere, the latest industrial explosion in China represents a dangerous escalation of the ongoing covert war between the U.S. and China, and unknown to millions, World War III may have begun already.

The Inquisitr reported on August 18 that, after the first major industrial explosion that occurred at a chemical plant in Tianjin, China, conspiracy theory blogs claimed that dissident sources within China said the Chinese authorities had evidence the U.S. was behind the deadly twin blasts that devastated a large area of the busy Tianjin port, killing more than 100 people.

Conspiracy theory blogs, such as Unhived Mind and Natural News, speculated that the Tianjin explosion was caused by a “kinetic energy weapon,” popularly termed “Rods from God,” fired from space by Pentagon in retaliation for China’s decision to devalue its national currency.

“[Kinetic energy weapons are] tungsten projectiles orbiting the Earth [that can be fired] at targets on the Earth’s surface… As the projectile’s kinetic energy is released, the blast would be equivalent to a large conventional bomb… a non-nuclear precision weapon… that can target anywhere in the world.”

Washington launched the attack because the U.S. government construed the move by the Chinese as part of a plot to collapse the U.S. economy. The attack was also allegedly launched to warn China against introducing a gold-backed currency and dumping its U.S. debt holdings.

The strike by the U.S. was the culmination of growing tensions between the two countries following a series of Chinese cyber attacks on the U.S.

Tensions escalated further when the administration of President Barack Obama issued a warning to China about the activities of Chinese agents hunting dissidents within U.S. borders.

China’s sudden, unexpected devaluation of its currency, believed to be part of calculated moves to crash the U.S. economy, was the last straw for Washington, according to conspiracy theorists. The Chinese action provoked the U.S. to act, according to a 2011 Pentagon policy statement that “Washington will consider using conventional weaponry (non-nuclear) in response to a cyber-attack on the United States.”

Conspiracy theorists claimed at the time of the Tianjin explosion that the Chinese authorities were investigating the incident and considering appropriate response.

When a second explosion occurred at a chemical plant in the Huantai County of Shandong Province on August 22, conspiracy theorists declared that Pentagon was also behind the attack, and that people should expect a retaliation against U.S. interests by Beijing.

Thus, when reports came on August 23 that a series of powerful explosions occurred at the Sagami General Depot, a U.S. munitions depot in the Kanagawa Prefecture on the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, conspiracy theorists declared that the incident was the Chinese retaliation they had told people to expect.

According to Natural News’ Michael Adams, proof that the Tokyo blast was a retaliatory strike from China came when a “sabotage device” was found at the site of the explosion in Tokyo.

Citing the U.K.’s Mirror, Natural News claimed that a third explosion at a chemical plant in the Shandong Province — which went largely unreported in the western media — was the U.S. retaliation for the Chinese attack on the U.S. munitions depot in Tokyo.

Citing the Chinese People’s Daily in its August 31 report, Mirror said the explosion occurred in Lijin, an industrial zone in the city of Dongying, in the Shandong Province.

Further escalation of the secret war between the U.S. and China allegedly occurred when, according to the Wall Street Journal in a report published on Wednesday, September 2, five Chinese Navy ships were detected operating in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska, U.S.

The Wall Street Journal also reported on Thursday, September 3, that the warships came within 12 nautical miles of the U.S. coast and entered into U.S. territorial waters.

The reports were followed by a Fox News story that Russian spy ships, capable of cutting undersea communication cables, were spotted off the coasts of Georgia and Florida, near Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base.

The reports sparked what the Inquisitr described in a recent report as an “orgy of fear-mongering rumors about an impending Sino-Russian invasion of the U.S. mainland.”

Doomsday conspiracy theory blogs such as All News Pipeline (ANP), published reports warning readers that Russia and China were holding joint naval drills in preparation for military invasion.

The latest report of a fourth explosion at a chemical factory has sparked fresh rumors that the world is on the brink of World War III.

“[After the third explosion in Shandong] ‘coincidence theorists’ began to silently slink away, hoping no one would remember how they said the explosions were just random chance and wouldn’t continue.”

Natural News ridicules the apparently strained attempt by Reuters to explain away the recent series of blasts as everyday occurrence in China.

“Chemical plant blasts are relatively common in China [Reuters reported]. At least five people died in an explosion at one in Shandong province last week.”

Following reports of the fourth blast, ANP raised an alarm, declaring, “Signs Everywhere WW3 Has Already Begun — Covert Warfare On Many Levels Has Seemingly Broken Out All Across The Planet.”

According to the doomsday blog, “signs are emerging across the planet that ‘stealth’ World War 3 may have already begun with a series of events that lead some military and political experts to believe that the first several rounds of an unconventional WW3 may have already been fired.”

As evidence that the world is on the brink of World War III, ANP cited media reports that Putin has ordered “snap military drills” and placed Russian troops on full combat alert, while beefing up Russian military presence in Syria.

ANP also linked the latest developments to the Jade Helm military training exercises by the U.S. government on U.S. soil, saying that the exercises are part of U.S. preparation for World War III.

[Images: Weibo via IB Times; Getty Images]