Chinese academics claim Batanes belongs to China through Taiwan

MANILA, Philippines — Chinese academics claimed during a symposium last month that the Philippines’ northernmost province of Batanes belongs to China through Taiwan, prompting maritime transparency initiative SeaLight to warn of an apparent “lawfare” campaign aimed at advancing a new legal narrative over the strategically located island province.

In a statement issued Thursday, SeaLight said researchers from Chinese universities and research institutions gathered at a June 30 symposium hosted by Jinan University in Guangzhou and concluded that the Philippines’ administration of Batanes lacked historical and legal basis.

According to a report published by Jinan University and carried by Guangdong-based news outlet Newsgd, participants described the Batanes Islands as a “natural geographical extension” of Taiwan and asserted that sovereignty over the islands belongs to China. They also argued that the “so-called Japan-Philippines maritime delimitation negotiations” in the area have no legal validity.

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Neither the report published by Jinan University nor public statements from Chinese authorities indicate that Beijing has formally asserted sovereignty over Batanes.

The report said the symposium was convened after the recent Japan-Philippines summit, which reaffirmed closer security and maritime cooperation between the two countries. It added that scholars from Jinan University, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Nanjing University and other institutions attended the event.

SeaLight, a maritime transparency initiative launched in 2023 by Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, uses commercial satellite imagery and maritime tracking data to monitor gray-zone activities in the Indo-Pacific.

‘Lawfare’ strategy

SeaLight said the symposium appeared to be part of a broader “lawfare” strategy, in which legal arguments and academic discourse are used to reinforce territorial claims without an official declaration by the Chinese government.

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READ: Tao boat from Taiwan reaches Batanes, revives ancient sea routeSeaLight said the scholars’ conclusions could support China’s activities near the Bashi Channel, citing Chinese patrols conducted east of Taiwan last month.

“So far, PRC government officials have not endorsed the symposium’s conclusions, but that’s not unusual in PRC gray-zone narrative warfare,” SeaLight said.

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“For now, muddying the waters over Batanes’ legal ownership is sufficient to help justify its ‘sovereignty’ patrols,” it added.

Batanes is the Philippines’ northernmost province, located between Luzon and Taiwan along the Bashi Channel, a strategic waterway linking the South China Sea and the western Pacific. The area has drawn increasing strategic attention amid tensions in the Taiwan Strait and heightened military activity nearby.

READ: Chinese envoy, consul visit Batanes as Tao seafarers from Taiwan arrive

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The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy in Manila had yet to respond to requests for comment as of posting time. /dl