Chinese claims on Batanes disinformation – Teodoro

MANILA – Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Thursday dismissed as “disinformation” and “outlandish narratives” claims by Chinese scholars alleging that Batanes is part of China.

“Today, significantly, we see the disinformation in the guise of historical scholarship in a closed society, namely China, once again spewing out false narratives in our northern area,” the defense chief said in his speech on the second day of the two-day National West Philippine Sea Summit held in Pasay City on Thursday.

The event is in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the July 12, 2016 Arbitral Award.

In an interview with reporters, the DND chief said these claims are products of a society controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, citing that this is probably China’s way of “signaling a preconceived intention already.”

“And it also validates yung sinasabi natin na (what we are saying that) they have a plan to control the whole Pacific Ocean,” he noted.

READ: Teodoro on Chinese scholars’ Batanes claim: It’s a joke

In a separate statement, Teodoro said the Philippines reaffirmed its commitment to upholding international law and defending the country’s maritime rights and entitlements.

He said safeguarding the country’s maritime rights begins with cultivating greater public understanding and national ownership of the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

He also stressed the need to deepen public awareness of the country’s maritime entitlements.

“There should be increasing awareness and ownership of the WPS, Kalayaan Island Group, our EEZ (exclusive economic zone) in the whole of the Philippines, and extended continental shelf, in an increasingly granular manner. Such knowledge and awareness must be cascaded heavily so that it forms part of the psyche of our normal citizen, Juan de la Cruz or Juana de la Cruz,” he said.

Likewise, the DND chief underscored that true ownership goes beyond awareness, since it requires Filipinos to embrace the country’s maritime domain as a shared national responsibility, likening it to the care and protection that define the bond between a parent and a child.

READ: Batanes belongs to China through Taiwan, Chinese academics claim

“I was looking for a Tagalog or Filipino term to capture the spirit of knowledge. I was thinking, pag-ako, pag-angkin, pagmamay-ari (all mean ownership) it’s not enough… It’s pagyakap, you embrace. Why do you embrace? It’s because you have ownership. You steward, you don’t kill the people you embrace… You nurture, and you protect… Yakap denotes a special bond, like a parent with a child,” he said.

Teodoro also emphasized that such a mindset is essential to ensuring that the country’s maritime rights and resources are preserved not only for the present but also for future generations.

“Why is this important? To me, it’s really important because we steward these areas, all of these areas, not for ourselves, but for future generations of Filipinos. For whom, in order to steward these areas, we should make major commitments and investments,” he said.

The DND chief also emphasized that preserving a rules-based international order requires sustained cooperation among like-minded states, stressing that collective action and shared responsibility remain essential in addressing common security challenges and safeguarding regional stability.

“We need adherents, we need co-actors, and, for lack of a better term, co-investors, to resist any unilateral attempt to reshape the international order for the unilateral and selfish advantage of a leadership.” (PNA)

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