efforts to claim disputed territories are like Nazi
Germany's before World War II, drawing a fierce
Chinese response on Wednesday branding him
ignorant and amateurish.
In an interview with the New York Times, Aquino
called for world leaders not to make the mistake of
appeasing China as it seeks to cement control over
contested waters and islands in the strategically
vital South China Sea.
"At what point do you say: 'Enough is enough'?
Well, the world has to say it -— remember that the
Sudetenland was given in an attempt to appease
Hitler to prevent World War II," Aquino told the
New York Times in Manila on Tuesday.
Aquino was referring to the failure by Western
nations to back Czechoslovakia when Adolf Hitler-
led Nazi Germany occupied western parts of the
European nation in 1938 ahead of World War II.
Aquino's comments come less than two weeks
after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe raised the
temperature in a parallel territorial dispute with
China by appearing to compare Sino-Japanese
relations with the run-up to World War I.
Japan and China are at loggerheads over the
sovereignty of disputed islands in the East China
Sea, raising fears about a military confrontation
between Asia's two biggest economies.
Graphic showing disputed claims in the South
China Sea (AFP Photo/)
China also claims nearly all of the South China Sea,
one of the world's most important waterways as it
is home to vital shipping lanes and is believed to
sit atop lucrative deposits of natural resources.
But the Philippines, as well as Vietnam, Malaysia,
Brunei and the Taiwan, have overlapping claims to
some of the waters, and those disputes have for
decades made the South China Sea another
potential trigger for military conflict.
China has been steadily increasing its military and
coast guard presence in the sea in recent years to
assert its claim, causing diplomatic tensions to rise
and stoking concerns in the Philippines about
perceived Chinese bullying.
The Philippines says Chinese vessels have since
2012 effectively occupied a rich fishing area called
Scarborough Shoal, which is about 220 kilometres
(135 miles) off its main island but 650 kilometres
from the nearest major Chinese land mass.
The Philippines launched legal action with a United
Nations tribunal last year, asking it to rule the
Chinese South China Sea claim is invalid. China has
refused to participate in the UN process.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) greets
Philippines' President Benigno Aquino
Anger in China over Nazi comparison
China's foreign ministry did not immediately react
to Aquino's comments on Nazi Germany but an
angry commentary was released on the state-run
Xinhua news agency.
"Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III, who has
taken an inflammatory approach while dealing with
maritime disputes with China, has never been a
great candidate for a wise statesman in the
region," the commentary said.
"But his latest reported attack against China, in
which he senselessly compared his northern
neighbour to the Nazi Germany, exposed his true
colours as an amateurish politician who was
ignorant both of history and reality."
The commentary also insisted China's claims to the
South China Sea were legitimate, and that war
references by Aquino and Abe were not warranted.
"Despite lame comparisons by Philippine and
Japanese leaders, the international community
cannot ignore the fact that China has long chosen a
path of peaceful development," it said.
Aquino warned in the New York Times interview
that China may pursue further territorial conquests
if it succeeded in taking control of areas also
claimed by the Philippines.
"If we say yes to something we believe is wrong
now, what guarantee is there that the wrong will
not be further exacerbated down the line?" he said.
Later in the interview, he said: "You may have the
might, but that does not necessarily make you
right."
Aquino's media office confirmed on Wednesday the
New York Times had correctly reported the
president's comments on the dispute over the
South China Sea, which the Philippines calls the
West Philippine Sea.
"The president's statement affirms the country's
position on the importance of upholding the rule of
law with respect to resolving territorial claims in
the West Philippine Sea," presidential spokesman
Herminio Coloma said.
"It is a principled position that draws from
historical lessons, including that which he cited in
the interview."
Sent From David Aniemeka
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