The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has strongly condemned recent declarations by Chinese scholars asserting Beijing’s sovereignty over the Batanes Islands, calling the arguments historically groundless and illegal under international law.
The dispute arose following an academic seminar on June 30, 2026, at Jinan University in China, where researchers claimed Batanes is a geographical continuation of Taiwan and should therefore be ruled by China.
The NHCP denounced the assertions as a deliberate attempt to mislead, stating they fail to meet the standards of genuine academic study.
“Like a post that circulated in social media in 2025 over Palawan, these ‘claims’ have no rational basis in substantive research and operate from evident bad faith. They would never stand under scrutiny in academic discourse outside of the People’s Republic of China,” the NHCP stated.
To counter the claims, the commission presented scientific and historical facts. It noted that oceanographic evidence proves Batanes is a natural extension of Northern Luzon.
Furthermore, historical documents from 1687, including the accounts of British navigator William Dampier, prove that the indigenous Ivatan people lived in an independent, self-governing society.
The NHCP added that the islands were officially incorporated into the Spanish colonial government in 1783, and their participation in the Philippine Revolution and the Malolos Congress cemented their status as a permanent part of the country.
The commission also dismissed the argument that Batanes ought to have been handed over to China after World War II, pointing out that Japan lacked the legal right to surrender territory it never rightfully possessed.
“Japan cannot give to China what clearly belongs to the Philippines,” the NHCP emphasized, noting that local forces had already liberated the islands from Japanese occupation by the spring of 1945.
Reaffirming its dedication to protecting the country’s historical truth, the commission declared:
“Knowledge can only be true if grounded on good faith. No amount of fabrication will erase the truths of our past.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs has also previously weighed in on the matter, reiterating that Philippine sovereignty over the Batanes archipelago is indisputable and non-negotiable.