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Manila Philippines: President Benigno S. Aquino III of the Philippines called on Tuesday for nations around the world to support the Philippines in resisting China's assertive claims to the seas near his country, drawing a comparison to the West's failure to support Czechoslovakia against Hitler's demands for the Sudetenland in 1938.
Like Czechoslovakia, the Philippines faces demands to surrender territory piecemeal to a much stronger foreign power and needs more robust foreign support for the rule of international law if it is to resist these demands, Aquino said in a 90-minute interview in the wood-paneled music room of the presidential palace.
"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, he added, "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."
Mr Aquino's remarks are among the strongest indications yet of alarm among Asian heads of state about China's military buildup and territorial ambitions, and the second time in recent weeks that an Asian leader has volunteered a comparison to the buildup of tensions before world wars.
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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan caused a stir in Davos, Switzerland, when he noted in January that Britain and Germany went to war in 1914 even though they had economic ties - much as China and Japan have now.
Japan has been locked in an increasingly tense standoff with China over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. Even South Korea, which has been quieter about Chinese claims, expressed alarm last year when Beijing announced that it had the right to police the skies above a vast area of ocean, including areas claimed by Seoul and Tokyo.
While China's moves to claim rocks, shoals and fishing grounds off the coast of the Philippines in the South China Sea have been less high-profile, the Chinese have moved faster there.
The Philippines already appears to have lost effective control to China of one of the best-known places of contention, a reef named Scarborough Shoal, after the Philippine forces withdrew during a standoff with China in 2012. The withdrawal as part of a US-mediated deal in which both sides were to pull back while the dispute was negotiated. But Chinese forces remained.
Mr Aquino said he thought the Philippines and the United States were very close to a long-delayed deal that would allow more US troops to rotate through the Philippines, enhancing his country's security. "We are very optimistic that will happen," he said.
The deal would also aid the United States in its much-discussed rebalance toward Asia, where it hopes to retain a strong influence despite a rising China. But so far, the deal has been a controversial subject in the Philippines among the political elite, whose memories of the country's past as a US possession make them wary of closer military ties.
The Philippines will not renounce any of its possessions in the sea between it and China, Mr Aquino said in the interview.
Beijing has repeatedly ruled out accepting any UN arbitration or multilateral discussions, preferring bilateral talks with individual countries in Southeast Asia, an approach that allows Chinese leaders to bring greater pressure to bear.
Read more: We're China's Czechoslovakia, says Philippines
Like Czechoslovakia, the Philippines faces demands to surrender territory piecemeal to a much stronger foreign power and needs more robust foreign support for the rule of international law if it is to resist these demands, Aquino said in a 90-minute interview in the wood-paneled music room of the presidential palace.
"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, he added, "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."
Mr Aquino's remarks are among the strongest indications yet of alarm among Asian heads of state about China's military buildup and territorial ambitions, and the second time in recent weeks that an Asian leader has volunteered a comparison to the buildup of tensions before world wars.
Advertisement
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan caused a stir in Davos, Switzerland, when he noted in January that Britain and Germany went to war in 1914 even though they had economic ties - much as China and Japan have now.
Japan has been locked in an increasingly tense standoff with China over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. Even South Korea, which has been quieter about Chinese claims, expressed alarm last year when Beijing announced that it had the right to police the skies above a vast area of ocean, including areas claimed by Seoul and Tokyo.
While China's moves to claim rocks, shoals and fishing grounds off the coast of the Philippines in the South China Sea have been less high-profile, the Chinese have moved faster there.
The Philippines already appears to have lost effective control to China of one of the best-known places of contention, a reef named Scarborough Shoal, after the Philippine forces withdrew during a standoff with China in 2012. The withdrawal as part of a US-mediated deal in which both sides were to pull back while the dispute was negotiated. But Chinese forces remained.
Mr Aquino said he thought the Philippines and the United States were very close to a long-delayed deal that would allow more US troops to rotate through the Philippines, enhancing his country's security. "We are very optimistic that will happen," he said.
The deal would also aid the United States in its much-discussed rebalance toward Asia, where it hopes to retain a strong influence despite a rising China. But so far, the deal has been a controversial subject in the Philippines among the political elite, whose memories of the country's past as a US possession make them wary of closer military ties.
The Philippines will not renounce any of its possessions in the sea between it and China, Mr Aquino said in the interview.
Beijing has repeatedly ruled out accepting any UN arbitration or multilateral discussions, preferring bilateral talks with individual countries in Southeast Asia, an approach that allows Chinese leaders to bring greater pressure to bear.
Read more: We're China's Czechoslovakia, says Philippines
