Japan PM quotes Britain's Iron Lady on island dispute

Japan's prime minister on Thursday quoted comments by former British premier Margaret Thatcher about the Falklands War as he spoke about Tokyo's acrimonious islands dispute with China.

Shinzo Abe channeled the Iron Lady in a speech to parliament in which he talked about Japan's resolve to defend the islands claimed by Beijing in the East China Sea.

"Our national interests are immutable forever," Abe told lawmakers. "They aim at making the seas -- the foundation of our nation's existence -- completely open, free and peaceful."

Aggressors should never triumph, he said.

"Former Prime Minister Thatcher, recalling the Falklands War, said she tried to follow the principle that above all, international law -the fundamental rule for the entire world -- must prevail against the use of force," Abe said.

The comments echo those by Thatcher in her autobiography in which she reflected about the 1982 conflict with Argentina over the ownership of the Falklands.

Thatcher sent a task force which recaptured the islands after a 74-day war which left 649 Argentines and 255 Britons dead.

The premier said Tokyo wants to establish a forward-looking partnership with Seoul while trying to sign a peace treaty with Moscow by "seriously tackling" their territorial dispute.

The prime minister said he wanted to set up a Japanese version of the US National Security Council and called for a "national debate" on a possible change in the post-World War II constitution that imposed pacifism on Japan.