--- description: He made the comparison during a speech to business leaders in Tokyo on Wednesday. title: Philippine President Slams China for Acting like Nazis image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc49a6594353af3b4/698852bf0b72e34a146e44a3/philippines.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Philippine President Slams Beijing for Acting like Nazis in the South China Sea by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 3, 2015 9:05 AM CUT  Philippine President Benigno Aquino delivers a speech in the Japanese parliament during his visit to Tokyo on June 3, 2015. Philippine President Benigno Aquino delivers a speech in the Japanese parliament during his visit to Tokyo on June 3, 2015.Kazuhiro Nogi — AFP/Getty Images by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 3, 2015 9:05 AM CUT Philippine President Benigno Aquino refused to pull his punches in Tokyo on Wednesday when he compared Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea to Nazi Germany’s demands for Czech territory in the 1930s. During a speech to business leaders in the Japanese capital, Aquino blasted the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing claim to a majority of the potentially resource-rich waters of the South China Sea. “I’m an amateur student of history and I’m reminded of… how Germany was testing the waters and what the response was by various other European powers,” said Aquino, in an apparent reference to the Nazis’ territorial conquests in Europe during the run up to World War II, [according](http://news.yahoo.com/philippine-leader-likens-china-nazi-germany-062034544.html "undefined") to Agence France-Presse. Aquino’s remarks echo similar sentiments made during an [interview](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/05/world/asia/philippine-leader-urges-international-help-in-resisting-chinas-sea-claims.html "undefined") with the New York _Times_ last year when he also made comparisons between Beijing’s maritime maneuvers now with Nazi Germany’s actions in the late 1930s. At the time, Chinese state media outlets [lambasted](http://time.com/4886/beijing-slams-aquino-over-nazi-claim/ "undefined") the comparison and said the president was an “amateurish politician who was ignorant both of history and reality.” ### See the Patriotic Red Army School Students in China  A child wearing a uniform waits to raise the national flag on Jan. 21, 2015 at the Beichuan Red army elementary school in Beichuan, southwest China's Sichuan province. Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images  Children sing after raising the national flag. Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images  Children sing after raising the national flag. Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images  Children march after raising the national flag. Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images  Children wait to enter their classroom. Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images  Children during class. Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images  Children take their lunch. Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images  Children during lunch. Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images  A boy waits at the Beichuan Red army elementary school. Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3906811/philippines-china-nazi-germany/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3906811/philippines-china-nazi-germany/"},"headline":"Philippine President Slams Beijing for Acting like Nazis in the South China Sea","datePublished":"2015-06-03T09:05:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:03:13.581Z","description":"This isn't the first time he’s compared the Chinese leadership to the Third Reich","url":"https://time.com/3906811/philippines-china-nazi-germany/","keywords":["Beijing","Philippines","World War II","South China Sea"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc49a6594353af3b4/698852bf0b72e34a146e44a3/philippines.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc49a6594353af3b4/698852bf0b72e34a146e44a3/philippines.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"JAPAN-PHILIPPINES-DIPLOMACY","caption":"JAPAN-PHILIPPINES-DIPLOMACY","creditText":"Kazuhiro Nogi — AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3906811/philippines-china-nazi-germany/","name":"Philippine President Slams Beijing for Acting like Nazis in the South China Sea"}}]}] ```