Are the Batanes Islands Part of China? Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Beijing Aims to Control the First Island Chain

(Central News Agency reporter Yang Yao-ru, Taipei, 14th) Chinese scholars have recently claimed that the Batanes Islands, the northernmost part of the Philippines, belong to China. Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated today that such scholars' unrealistic fantasies are not worth commenting on. On the 10th anniversary of the South China Sea arbitration, the Chinese Communist Party is showing increasingly aggressive behavior internationally, aiming to control the entire First Island Chain region.

The Philippine Research Center at Jinan University in China held an academic symposium in Guangzhou on June 30. According to the university's press release, attending scholars argued from geographical, cultural, historical, and legal perspectives that the Batanes Islands legally belong to 'China's Taiwan Island'.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hsiao Kung-wei, during a regular press conference this morning, responded to media inquiries by stating bluntly that the Chinese scholars' unrealistic fantasies are not worth commenting on.

Hsiao pointed out that the Ministry also wishes to remind the international community that the Chinese Communist Party's so-called 'One China Principle' is a falsehood that contradicts facts. Under this narrative, China almost emotionally coerces and infinitely expands its claims to assert sovereignty over the Batanes Islands. Given China's territorial disputes with Japan and South Korea, it is clear that the Chinese Communist Party is continuously clashing with countries along the First Island Chain and attempting to challenge the rules-based international order.

Hsiao emphasized that, on the 10th anniversary of the South China Sea arbitration, the Chinese Communist Party has not restrained its expansionist actions in the region but instead shown even greater aggression internationally. Beijing's recent series of maritime military and legal warfare maneuvers along the island chain aim to control the entire First Island Chain region.

Hsiao noted that China's claim of 'historically' owning the Philippine Batanes Islands follows a pattern consistent with its approach toward Taiwan. China's method involves advancing legal narratives first, followed by domestic scholars and state media reinterpreting history, then launching international cognitive warfare, while simultaneously using force—such as coast guard law enforcement and missile tests—to exert gray-zone pressure at sea.

Hsiao stressed that at this critical moment, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the Taiwan Strait are not the source of regional instability. The real root cause is China's authoritarian expansion, including military buildup and hybrid warfare tactics such as so-called legal warfare, public opinion warfare, psychological warfare, and cognitive operations, which are the enemies and true threats to the free and democratic world.

Hsiao stated that the Ministry calls on the international community and like-minded democratic nations to recognize the reality, cooperate closely with Taiwan, and jointly safeguard peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. (Edited by Lin Shu-yuan) 1150714