Asia Sentinel

Asia Sentinel

Politics

Philippines Pushes back as China narrative on Batanes Grows

Is China starting to justify an eventual seizure of the island province?

Sep 08, 2026
∙ Paid
By: Tita C. Valderama

The Philippines is pushing back against what it sees as a creeping Chinese campaign to rewrite the history of Batanes, a string of islands and the country’s northern most province, with the aim of one day challenging Manila’s sovereignty over the strategic islands.

From an academic symposium to a state-run Chinese newspaper, assertio…

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