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Japan's former PM says China seeking 'lebensraum'
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Japan's former PM says China seeking 'lebensraum'
AFP - 2 hours 6 minutes ago
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Japan's former PM says China seeking 'lebensraum'
WASHINGTON (AFP) - – Japan's conservative former prime minister Shinzo Abe has accused China of pursuing a modern-day policy of "lebensraum" with its growing assertiveness over disputed territories.
"Lebensraum," or "living space," was a key tenet in the philosophy of Adolf Hitler who believed that Germany deserved space, especially in eastern Slavic areas, in which to grow.
Abe, on a visit to Washington, voiced concern about the expansion of China's navy including in the East China Sea, where Japan's recent arrest of a Chinese captain near disputed islands set off an intense feud between the two nations.
"Since the 1980s, China's military strategy has rested on the concept of a 'strategic frontier,'" Abe said in an address late last week before the Hudson Institute think-tank.
"In a nutshell, this very dangerous idea posits that borders and exclusive economic zones are determined by national power, and that as long as China's economy continues to grow, its sphere of influence will continue to expand.
"Some might associate this with the German concept of 'lebensraum,'" Abe said.
Abe, whose Liberal Democratic Party is now in opposition, blasted Prime Minister Naoto Kan's response to the naval incident as "very foolish." Japan freed the skipper after pressure from China, including what businesses said was a halt to exports of rare minerals crucial to Japanese industry.
Accusing the Chinese fishing boat of intentionally ramming a Japanese coast guard vessel, Abe said: "Such a barbaric act cannot be overlooked."
"I must say that the interpretation of the situation by the prime minister's office was frighteningly naive," Abe said.
Abe also said China may be responding to what he saw as its "indignity of capitulation" against US military power during the 1996 standoff over the Strait of Taiwan, likening Beijing's path to that of the Soviet Union following the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.
"Perhaps the party's leaders, despite their fear of meeting the same fate as the Soviet Union, are unable to resist the call of the People's Liberation Army for a military buildup," Abe said.
Abe, who was prime minister from 2006 to 2007 and remains a lawmaker, has long been known for his hawkish views. However, as prime minister he moved to repair ties with China which had soured under his high-profile predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi.
Abe said he remained supportive of cooperation with China but "in a way that is conducive to peace and stability" in Asia.
"That is the guiding principle that China should follow, and if it strays from that path, it should be admonished," Abe said.
Despite Abe's criticism, US officials have hailed Kan as a "statesman" for trying to ease tensions with China.
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