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 Shinzo Abe raised eyebrows when he drew a parallel between the current state of relations between Japan and China and that of Britain and Germany before the start of World War I a century ago . Xinhua said that despite the `` lame comparisons '' made by Japan and the Philippines , China had chosen a path of peaceful development and its territorial claims in the South China Sea have a `` sound historical foundation . '' The maritime area is home to messy mix of rival claims , with China , Brunei , Malaysia , the Philippines , Taiwan and Vietnam disputing sovereignty of island chains and nearby waters . The Philippines and China both say that Scarborough Shoal , about 200 kilometers west of the Philippines mainland , is `` an integral part '' of their territory . China , Japan and South Korea also dispute sovereignty of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea . The areas in dispute include fertile fishing grounds and potentially rich reserves of undersea natural resources .
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 .