The NHCP Has a History Lesson for Scholars Claiming Batanes Belongs to China

(SPOT.ph) It's not just the West Philippine Sea anymore. A group of Chinese scholars is now claiming that Batanes belongs to China, arguing that the Philippines has no historical or legal basis for exercising sovereignty over its northernmost province.

The claim emerged from a June 30 symposium at Jinan University in Guangzhou, where academics from several Chinese institutions reportedly concluded that the Batanes Islands are a “natural geographic extension” of Taiwan—and, by their reasoning, should therefore fall under Chinese sovereignty.

Naturally, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has some things to say. It condemned the claims in a statement, saying it lacked historical support.

“These 'claims' have no rational basis in substantive research and operate from evident bad faith. They would never stand under scrutiny in academic discourse outside of the People’s Republic of China,” the NHCP said, before tackling the scholars’ arguments one by one in a post.

Also read: "Delusional" China Extends Its Territorial Claims With the 10-Dash Line

The scholars argued that Batanes was once governed through Taiwan during the Ming and Qing dynasties. They also claimed the islands were not included in the treaties when Spain handed the Philippines to the United States in 1898 or when Philippine independence was recognized in 1946. On that basis, they claimed the islands should have been returned to China after World War II.

The Chinese government has not formally adopted the academics’ position. Still, Philippine officials have taken it seriously.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the claim is not just harmless academic talk: “It’s not an official statement, but in a closed society like China, any Chinese subject, any academic who makes a statement in China, it becomes a quasi-state statement.”

The NHCP disputed the claim that Batanes should be considered an extension of Taiwan because of geography. It said satellite and oceanographic data show a continuous shelf running from Northern Luzon through the Babuyan and Batanes Islands and into parts of Taiwan. In other words, geography does not automatically turn Batanes into Chinese territory.

More importantly, the commission said there is no evidence that China governed the islands during the Ming or Qing dynasties.

“During the 1896 Philippine Revolution and the First Philippine Republic, Batanes was already recognized as an integral part of our country’s territory with Ivatans rising up once again and claiming independence against the Spanish. They were represented in the Malolos Congress and every subsequent iterations of our national legislature. They have an elected government, one that is recognized by the whole world as Filipino,” the NHCP said.

The commission said there is no record of Chinese rule over Batanes. British explorer William Dampier’s 1687 account instead described established Ivatan communities, while later research showed that they governed themselves. Spain formally incorporated the islands into Cagayan in 1783, and by the Philippine Revolution, the people of Batanes were already fighting alongside the rest of the country against Spanish rule.

The commission also cited British explorer William Dampier’s documentation of Batanes in 1687, which reportedly showed no trace of Chinese administration. Instead, it showed established Ivatan communities that governed themselves. Spain made Batanes part of Cagayan in 1783; then more than a century later, the people of Batanes joined the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule.

Former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio has challenged China to bring the claim before an international court if it believes it has a legitimate legal case.

“No amount of fabrication will erase the truths of our past,” the NHCP said.

Also read: West Philippine Sea or South China Sea? The Difference Matters