WITH the maritime territorial dispute at the West Philippine Sea still unresolved, China seemed bent on expanding its claim over the northernmost tip of the country.
This comes as researchers from Chinese universities and institutes declared that Manila’s control over Batanes supposedly lacks historical and legal basis.
The scholars concluded that the Islands constitute a geographical extension of Taiwan, with sovereignty belonging to China.
As this developed, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. called claims that Batanes belongs to China, by way of Taiwan, as “baseless and ludicrous,” adding that all academics should immediately debunk narratives that could sway ordinary Chinese citizens to believe .
“Sa kanilang closed society, sa tao nila, naniniwala ang mga tao nila dito. Brainwashed eh ang mga tao nila. So ito ay concerning kaso ito’y dapat labanan,” Teodoro told reporters in an ambush interview.
“We should not allow this to go unresponded to. All academics in the world should douse cold water already on this theory. Kalokohan na ‘yan eh,” he added.
According to Teodoro, the study also validates his suspicion that China has plans to control the Pacific Ocean.
“Signalling of a preconceived intention already. Hindi din malayo na nasa plano nila yan. And it also validates ‘yung sinasabi natin na they have the plan to control the whole Pacific Ocean, what is this for?” he averred.
Meanwhile, National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) spokesperson Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela finds it rather imperative to rectify China’s claim over Batanes via legal and diplomatic remedies.
“Otherwise, kapag hindi natin pinatulan itong mga ganitong kasinungalingan, uulit-ulitin lang nila and they are going to rewrite history once again,” he said.
“Baka hindi natin alam, baka pati Ilog Pasig angkinin na rin ng China,” he ended.
