The Philippines’ defence minister has rejected as “baseless” and “ludicrous” assertions by Chinese scholars that its northernmost island-chain province belongs to Beijing.
Background
Chinese state-run news site GDToday reported on July 2 that scholars from institutions including Nanjing University argued at a June 30 symposium that Batanes was a natural extension of Taiwan and therefore belonged to China.
Beijing has not formally endorsed that position. The assertions may add a new dimension to long-running tensions between Manila and Beijing, which are already embroiled in multiple disputes over islands and features in the South China Sea.
Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro told reporters, “I view this, once again, as probably a signal of a preconceived intention. It is not far-fetched to think that this is already part of their plan. And it also validates what we have been saying that they have a plan to control the entire Pacific Ocean.”
Batanes, home to about 20,000 people, is about 160 km south of Taiwan along the strategically important Luzon Strait, a key passage linking the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
