Philippines Firmly Rejects Chinese Claims Over Batanes

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs stated that Philippine sovereignty over Batanes is "settled and not up for debate," categorically rejecting claims by Chinese scholars that the country's northernmost island province belongs to China, potentially by way of Taiwan. The assertion surfaced just days before the Philippines marks the 10th anniversary of the 2016 arbitral award on the South China Sea and following Manila and Tokyo's announcement of maritime boundary talks in waters east of Taiwan. "Flights of fancy should not be dignified with a response. Nevertheless, the Philippines' sovereignty over Batanes is settled and not up for debate," Foreign Affairs spokesperson Analyn Ratonel said in a text message to reporters, as reported by the Philippine News Agency (PNA). "The Philippines will not entertain revisionist claims over its territory and calls on so-called scholars to focus their energies on genuine, good-faith studies of the region," she added. Ratonel also noted that Batanes falls within a Philippine-approved consular district of the Chinese Consulate General in Laoag, indicating Philippine jurisdiction, according to PNA. The claim originated from a report by Guangdong-based news site Newsgd, also known as South, on July 2. It stated that scholars from Chinese universities and research institutions "unanimously concluded" during a June 30 symposium at Jinan University that the Batan Islands are a natural geographical extension of Taiwan, with sovereignty belonging to China. The same report suggested the symposium was convened in response to the Japan-Philippines summit, where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced the launch of negotiations to delimit the countries' exclusive economic zones and continental shelves in waters east of Taiwan. Beijing has not formally endorsed the scholars' position to date. Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. separately dismissed the claim as "baseless" and "ludicrous," describing it as "concerning" and "something that must be challenged." Batanes is situated south of Taiwan along the Luzon Strait, near the Bashi Channel, a strategic passage between the South China Sea and the western Pacific. This geography has increasingly heightened the province's relevance to security planning as the Philippines strengthens ties with allies and partners, including the United States and Japan. SeaLight, a Stanford-based maritime transparency initiative tracking China's gray-zone activities, flagged the Chinese scholars' claim on X (formerly Twitter), describing it as a potential "lawfare" tactic linked to China's recent patrols east of Taiwan and through the Bashi Channel. SeaLight Executive Director Ray Powell had previously written that Chinese coast guard and other government vessels used "law enforcement" language during operations east of Taiwan, following China's criticism of the Japan-Philippines maritime delimitation talks. In its June 14 analysis, SeaLight stated that Beijing framed the talks between Manila and Tokyo as an infringement, then used that framing as a pretext for maritime operations in waters east of Taiwan. The latest claim over Batanes also emerged around the time of the National West Philippine Sea Summit, held from July 8 to 9 to commemorate the 10th year of the 2016 arbitral award. The award, issued on July 12, 2016, invalidated China's sweeping claims in the South China Sea that exceeded maritime entitlements under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.