Why a Chinese academic claim over Batanes has unsettled the Philippines
Chinese scholars at a symposium in Guangzhou have claimed that the Philippine province of Batanes belongs to China via Taiwan. Philippine officials and historians have rejected these claims, citing geographical and historical inaccuracies.
Why it matters
The rhetoric escalates regional tensions in the South China Sea and complicates the Philippines' maritime sovereignty disputes with Beijing.
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 article reports on a controversial claim by presenting both the academic argument and the official Philippine rebuttal without taking a side.
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