KMU defends China against Aquino comment

MANILA, Philippines−Just as militant group said they condemned China for its aggressive stance in claiming parts of the South China Sea, the Kilusang Mayo Uno also slammed President Benigno Aquino III for describing the Philippines’ northern neighbor as the present-day Nazi.

“Even as we condemn China’s aggressive moves in relation to its territorial dispute with the Philippines, we also condemn President Aquino for comparing the leaders of China with Adolf Hitler,” Roger Soluta, KMU secretary-general, said in a statement.

He said that Aquino’s comparison could worsen the country’s relations with China.

Aquino’s remarks were made in an interview with New York Times on Wednesday. The President called on world leaders not to appease China, which had adopted an aggressive stance to intimidate other claimants, including the Philippines.

“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.

Soluta said that Aquino’s remarks “unnecessarily demonizes” Chinese leaders in the President’s efforts to gather international support in the Philippines’ campaign to assert its sovereignty over the Scarborough Shoal in the disputed sea.

“It is a gross disservice to the Philippines’ solid historical, territorial and legal bases for its claims to the said islands,” Soluta said.

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