On July 9, 2026, Beijing intensified an unfounded and unlawful territorial claim over Batanes, the Philippines’ northernmost province, asserting that the islands belong to China.
The claim emerged from a June 30 symposium hosted by Jinan University in Guangzhou, where scholars from institutions including Nanjing University, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and other research organizations argued that the Batan Islands constitute a “natural geographical extension” of Taiwan and therefore fall under Chinese sovereignty.
Three days later, on July 12, 2026, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and 11 other nations—including Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, and the Philippines—issued a joint statement commemorating the 10th anniversary of the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award. The statement reaffirmed that the Tribunal’s ruling is final and legally binding, emphasizing that China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea lack legal basis.
Why Batanes Matters Strategically
Batanes occupies a critical position in the Luzon Strait, a strategic maritime corridor linking the South China Sea with the Philippine Sea and the wider Pacific Ocean. The strait is a key transit route for commercial shipping and military forces, and any conflict involving Taiwan would likely extend into this waterway, elevating Batanes' strategic importance.
Accordingly, the Philippines, the United States, and Japan have strengthened security cooperation in the area, while Chinese naval and coast guard vessels have increasingly operated east of Taiwan, underscoring the strait's significance in Indo-Pacific security dynamics.
China's Baseless Sovereignty Claim
China's claim to Batanes rests on historical interpretation rather than internationally recognized legal principles. At the June 30 symposium, Chinese scholars argued that Batanes was under Taiwan's jurisdiction during the Ming and Qing dynasties, citing historical navigation records, cultural ties between the Ivatan and Tao peoples, and their interpretation of the 1898 Treaty of Paris and the 1946 Treaty of Manila. They also asserted that Batanes should have been returned to China after World War II alongside Taiwan.
However, historical links and geographic proximity do not, by themselves, establish sovereignty under international law. The Philippines has exercised continuous administration over Batanes since the Spanish colonial period, and the province has long been recognized internationally as part of Philippine territory. No international court, arbitral tribunal, or treaty recognizes Chinese sovereignty over the islands.
Maritime security analyst Ray Powell argues the symposium reflects Beijing's broader "lawfare" strategy, using academic narratives to support future geopolitical objectives. Although the Chinese government has not formally endorsed the symposium's conclusions, Powell notes that such unofficial initiatives are consistent with China's gray-zone approach to shaping legal and historical narratives.
Taken together, the historical record, international legal framework, and the Philippines' longstanding administration contradict China's claim, exposing it as just another one of Beijing’s loud but baseless claims.
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