LABOR Secretary Francis Tolentino has strongly rejected the claim of Chinese academics that Batanes belongs to China through Taiwan, calling the assertions a form of “lawfare” and historical revisionism aimed at undermining Philippine sovereignty.
Tolentino, a long-time advocate of Philippine maritime rights and principal author of the Philippine Maritime Zones Law, said that the claim, which surfaced during a symposium in Guangzhou on June 30, had no basis in history, law, or actual state practice.
“Sovereignty is not decided in a conference room,” he said over the weekend.
“Batanes is part of the Philippines and will always be,” he declared. “Sovereignty is proven by effectivités — the continuous, peaceful, and effective exercise of state authority.”
The Philippines has exercised uninterrupted governance over Batanes for generations through the conduct of elections, administration of justice, delivery of public services, enforcement of laws, and sustained investments in the welfare of the Ivatan people, Tolentino said.
He emphasized that these are concrete demonstrations of sovereignty recognized under international law, not merely political assertions.
Tolentino also cited the country’s constitutional and historical foundations, noting that the 1935 Constitution fixed Batanes’ northern boundary at 21°25’ North based on long-established international agreements, including the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the 1900 Treaty of Washington, and the 1930 Convention between the United States and the United Kingdom.
He pointed out that the Ivatan people’s presence in the islands predates these treaties by centuries, while Spain formally incorporated Batanes into the Philippine archipelago in 1783 under Governor-General José Basco y Vargas.
“These are not theories. They are facts of governance,” Tolentino said.
The labor chief warned that seemingly academic narratives disputing Philippine territory should not be dismissed as harmless scholarship.
He said such claims could form part of broader “gray-zone” strategies or legal warfare intended to create confusion, weaken established territorial claims, and gradually influence international opinion without resorting to open conflict.
“We will not allow selective, revisionist interpretations to compromise our territorial integrity,” Tolentino said.
