- State media calls the Philippine president “ignorant” and “amateurish”
- Benigno Aquino compared Beijing’s pursuit of disputed territory with the rise of Nazi Germany
- Comments echo a similar historical parallel made by Japan’s leader
- China says it has chosen a path of peaceful development
Hong Kong (CNN) — Chinese state media has called the Philippine president “ignorant” and “amateurish” after he compared Beijing’s pursuit of disputed territory in the South China Sea with the rise of Nazi Germany.
A scathing commentary released by news agency Xinhua Wednesday said Benigno Aquino “had never been a great candidate for a wise statesman in the region.”
The comments came after Aquino called for the world to do more to support the Philippines in resisting China’s claims, drawing a comparison to the West’s failure to support Czechoslovakia against Hitler’s demands for Czech lands in 1938.
“At what point do you say ‘Enough is enough?’ Well the world has to say it — remember that Sudentenland was given in an attempt to appease Hitler to prevent World War II,” Benigno told the New York Times in an interview.
In the riposte, Xinhua said the “senseless attack” exposed “his true color as an amateurish politician who was ignorant of both history and reality.”
It’s not the first time that an Asian leader has invoked the build-up to a world war to depict tensions over territorial claims in the region.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, Japanese Prime Minister
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