The Department of National Defense (DND) on Friday, September 4, strongly condemned a recent Chinese state media article claiming that the Batanes Islands are not part of Philippine territory.

The DND’s statement came after China’s state-run Global Times published a September 3 opinion piece titled “History shows that Batanes Islands do not belong to the Philippines,” which questioned the Philippines’ territorial claim over the northern island province.

The article, written by Wang Yuanyuan of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, argued that Batanes was historically and legally connected to Taiwan and claimed there was no legal basis for considering the islands part of the Philippines.

In response, the DND described the publication as “state-sponsored propaganda” and accused China of continuing to spread what it called distorted narratives concerning Philippine territory.

The DND stressed that Batanes and other Philippine territories had never been part of China and vowed to defend the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“Hindi kailanman naging bahagi ng Tsina ang Batanes o anumang lugar sa Pilipinas, at kailanman ay hindi natin hahayaan ang anumang pagtatangka sa soberanya at teritoryo ng Republika ng Pilipinas,” it added.

The latest exchange comes amid continuing tensions between Manila and Beijing over territorial and maritime claims in the region, with both sides maintaining competing positions on sovereignty and jurisdiction.