Batanes Lone District Representative Ciriaco Gato Jr. has strongly condemned assertions from Chinese academics claiming that the northernmost province of the Philippines is a geographical extension of Taiwan and belongs to China, calling the statements an outright assault on Philippine sovereignty.
The lawmaker expressed deep concern over the discussions from a recent symposium in China, where scholars argued that the island province falls under Chinese jurisdiction.
Gato completely dismissed the narrative, firmly defending the province’s place within Philippine territory.
“I view with grave concern recent claims made during an academic symposium in China asserting that Batanes is a natural geographical extension of Taiwan with sovereignty belonging to China,” he noted.
Emphasizing the deep-rooted historical and constitutional bonds of the region, Gato declared that the residents of Batanes are indisputably Filipino.
“The Ivatans are Filipinos. These are enduring truths established by history, affirmed by our Constitution and laws, and embodied in the identity and collective experience of our people,” he explained.
Gato warned that any rhetoric attempting to diminish the nation’s territorial integrity would face staunch opposition, emphasizing that the government treats these provocations with severe seriousness.
“Any challenge to our status is not merely a geopolitical provocation; it is an affront to our identity that we will not tolerate,” Gato stated on Friday, July 10.
“We treat any insinuation that seeks to question or undermine the absolute sovereignty of the Republic of the Philippines over our islands with utmost gravity,” Gato stated, adding, “We have always known who we are. Our allegiance is to the Republic of the Philippines—now and always.”
The controversial remarks from the Chinese scholars surfaced just ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in The Hague, which legally invalidated China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea.