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Philippine officials reject claims linking Batanes to Chinese sovereignty
The dispute stems from a June 30 symposium in Guangzhou that argued Batanes belonged to Taiwan and should fall under Chinese sovereignty, a position Manila rejects amid wider concerns over South China Sea access.
A Guangzhou university symposium has sparked a fresh sovereignty dispute involving Batanes, the Philippines northernmost province, after scholars argued the islands belonged to Taiwan and therefore should be covered by overall Chinese sovereignty, according to SCMP Economy.
Philippine historians and officials rejected the claim, disputing the symposium participants’ use of geography, historical administration, cultural links and post-war treaties, while Beijing views Taiwan as part of China, to be reunited by force if necessary.
The article says the debate has heightened concern in Manila that an apparently academic argument could be used to support or test a broader narrative about the islands, which sit near a key waterway between the South China Sea and the Pacific.
SCMP Economy adds that the symposium was convened in response to a May 28 joint statement by the Philippines and Japan to negotiate maritime delimitation for exclusive economic zones and continental shelves, including areas east of Taiwan also claimed by mainland China.