Beijing Expands Territorial Claims Toward Batanes and Northern Philippines

Article by F. Palafox

Published on July 9, 2026 10:30PM

Tension over territorial claims is vividly illustrated as determined Filipinos, holding their national flag, confronting the shameless attempt to assert a claim over Batanes. The message underscores sovereignty and resistance: "Batanes is NOT for Sale!"

MANILA, Philippines — Chinese scholars’ reported claim that the Batanes Islands belong to China through Taiwan has no basis in Philippine law and runs against long-standing Philippine sovereignty over the northern island chain. Philippine officials have repeatedly said Batanes is part of the country and that Manila has every right to strengthen its defenses there. ¹

The latest allegation emerged from a symposium in Guangzhou that framed Batanes as a “natural geographical extension” of Taiwan and questioned Philippine-Japan maritime talks in the area. But the Philippines has treated Batanes as undisputed national territory for decades, and defense officials have said Beijing has no authority to warn Manila about military activity in the islands. ²

The report also comes against a backdrop of heightened strategic attention to Batanes, which sits near the Bashi Channel and the northern approaches to Luzon. Regional coverage has described the island chain as a sensitive point in broader China-Taiwan tensions, but that geography does not alter Philippine sovereignty over the province. ²

Philippine position

Manila’s response has been consistent: Batanes is Philippine territory, and any foreign attempt to recast it otherwise is legally and politically irrelevant. In 2024, the Department of National Defense said China “has no business” dictating what the Philippines does inside its territory, a line that matches the government’s broader defense posture in northern Luzon. ³

That position is also reflected in earlier Philippine statements, including calls to assert sovereignty in Batanes through regular patrols and visible state presence. Local and national officials have long treated the islands as a vital part of the country’s northern defense perimeter, not a negotiable feature of any outside power’s map. ¹

Why it matters

Batanes is not a peripheral detail; it is a Philippine province with direct security value because of its location between Luzon and the waters north of Taiwan. That makes it strategically important, but strategic importance is not the same as ownership, and Manila’s title does not depend on Chinese academic opinion. ²

The broader pattern is familiar, Chinese state-linked narratives often test legal and historical arguments in the public sphere before they are echoed more widely. In this case, the reported symposium appears designed to muddy the waters around a territory that the Philippines already administers and defends. ¹ ⁴

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Notes:

¹ GMA News. Philippine maritime rights 'arise from territory,' not EEZ lines — DFA. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/976462/philippine-martime-entitlements-sovereignty-territory/story/

² Philippine Star. China has no say in Batanes military plans — DND. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/02/11/2332587/china-has-no-say-batanes-military-plans-dnd

³ Philippine Star. Coast Guard ship to assert sovereignty in Batanes. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/07/29/1938908/coast-guard-ship-assert-sovereignty-batanes

⁴ South China Morning Post. Filipinos worry Chinese online claims to Batanes risk real-world conflict. https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3323091/filipinos-worry-chinese-online-claims-batanes-risk-real-world-conflict