Rumours in Vietnam blame outside forces for deadly anti-Chinese riots
Anti-Chinese violence was planned by groups with a hidden agenda, though sources disagree on who organised attacks and why they did it
Vietnam is awash with theories that outside forces, possibly with a murky pro-China agenda, orchestrated last week's deadly anti-China riots.
Although the identity of the supposed masterminds remains a subject of debate, few seem willing to believe that the violence that claimed four Chinese lives and injured scores of workers erupted spontaneously.
The riots broke out amid public anger at Chinese sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, and targeted hundreds of factories, although only a minority of them were Chinese-owned.
If you check, you will find that these criminals never stole many things
Dinh Hoang Thang, a retired diplomat who has criticised China over the maritime territorial conflict, said the riots should not be viewed as an escalation of anti-China sentiment but rather as an attempt to smear the leadership in Hanoi.
"All these riots were not done by the workers," he said. "These were outsiders who were wellorganised," he said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a reliable source linked to the Hanoi government said he believed the protesters had not intended for their demonstrations to turn deadly.
The source noted numerous witness accounts about a large group of men on motorcycles who had their faces covered with scarves and handkerchiefs.
State media described the men as members of criminal gangs, and Vietnamese police are said to have rounded up many of them over the past week.