The Philippine government must aggressively debunk a new narrative from Chinese academics asserting that the northern province of Batanes is a “natural extension” of Taiwan, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela urged on Thursday.
Speaking during an ambush interview, Tarriela warned that these assertions are part of a coordinated campaign by Beijing.
“They always come up with different lies and misinformation to justify and also to expand their areas sa South China Sea,” he said.
The issue was brought to light by SeaLight Executive Director Ray Powell during the National West Philippine Sea Summit. Powell exposed rhetoric from a June 30 maritime symposium in Guangzhou where Chinese scholars questioned Philippine sovereignty over Batanes.
“The Batan Islands, that’s Batanes, constitute a natural geographical extension of Taiwan with sovereignty belonging to China,” Powell quoted the scholars as saying.
Powell explained that such academic forums are used as a form of “legal warfare” to manufacture a veneer of legitimacy for Beijing’s expansionist goals, adding:
“They then assembled the scholars to give them the legal overlay… to be able to justify what they wanted to do anyway.”
Tarriela cautioned that leaving these falsehoods unanswered could embolden China to make even more outrageous territorial claims.
“Baka hindi natin alam, baka pati Ilog Pasig angkinin na rin ng China,” he remarked.
Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. backed the PCG’s concerns, viewing the statements as validation of China’s broader geopolitical ambitions.
“It also validates ‘yung sinasabi natin na they have the plan to control the whole Pacific Ocean,” Teodoro stated.
Dismissing the academic claims entirely, the Defense chief added:
“What is this for? And we know, walang basehan ito, kalokohan ito.”