China steps up Abe attacks

China returned to the offensive today over Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to a contested war shrine warning the UN Security Council that such acts threaten peace.
China's UN ambassador Liu Jieyi seized upon a council debate on the lessons of conflict to slam Abe for going to the Yasukuni shrine which honors war criminals among the country's war dead.
Attempts to change history "destabilize regional peace and pose a serious challenge to the peaceful course of mankind," Liu said as he embarked on the new diplomatic assault.
Abe "paid hommage to those who launched a war of aggression and were up their elbows in the blood of the people in the countries they invaded," said the Chinese envoy.

China has repeatedly condemned Abe for the December 26 visit to the shrine which has also been criticized by other Asian nations and by the United States, a key ally of Japan.