Filipino anthropologist slams Chinese scholar's narrative over Batanes
Filipino anthropologist Dr. Nestor Castro is challenging claims made by a Chinese scholar regarding the cultural and linguistic origins of the Batanes islands. Castro argues that the Ivatan language is part of the Austronesian family and distinct from Chinese linguistic roots.
Why it matters
The dispute highlights the intersection of academic research and geopolitical territorial claims in the South China Sea region.
TUGUEGARAO CITY - A Filipino anthropologist is questioning the inaccurate and false narratives of a Chinese scholar who suggested that that Batanes belongs to China through Taiwan.Dr. Nestor Castro, a cultural anthropologist on indigenous peoples' issues and cultural heritage based in Pasig City, said in a July 12 social media post that the language of the Lanyu (Orchid Island) people and the Ivatan language are all members of the Western Malayo-Polynesian (WMP) subfamily of the Austronesian family of languages. This runs contrast to the claim of Chinese anthropologist Wang Yuanyuan that the more than 10,000 Ivatan residents of Batanes share linguistic and cultural links with the Tao people of Lanyu and that their cultural heritage originated from China."Is this Wang Yuanyuan really an anthropologist or just a pretender?
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