Why a Chinese academic claim over Batanes has unsettled the Philippines

A university symposium in Guangzhou has placed the Philippines’ northernmost province of Batanes at the centre of a new argument over history, geography and sovereignty, after scholars at the event claimed the islands belonged to Taiwan and, on that basis, fell under overall Chinese sovereignty.

The claim, made at a June 30 symposium hosted by Jinan University in Guangzhou, has been rejected by Philippine historians and officials, who dispute the scholars’ reading of geography, dynastic administration, cultural links and post-war treaties.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China, to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington opposes any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

Beijing has not formally adopted the scholars’ position on Batanes, but the discussion has fuelled concern in Manila that an apparently academic argument could be used to test or shape a wider narrative around the islands, which sit near one of the most important waterways between the South China Sea and the Pacific.

The Guangzhou symposium was convened in reaction to a May 28 joint statement by the Philippines and Japan that the two would negotiate to delimit their exclusive economic zones and continental shelves, including areas east of Taiwan also claimed by mainland China.

Symposium participants said the Philippines-Japan agreement infringed on China’s sovereignty, and that the Batanes islands belonged to China.