Analysts warn such narratives seek to enhance Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea and influence public opinion in the Philippines
On the Chinese platform Douyin, some users have circulated videos alleging Batanes “once belonged to China” based on historical records, while others claimed Manila “illegally occupied” the islands in 1946 during China’s civil war.
Similar posts argue that the 1898 Treaty of Paris excluded Batanes from Philippine territory and invoke the post-war Potsdam Declaration to suggest it “should have been returned to China”.
Powell said he had not previously observed Chinese ships transiting the Bashi Channel, which separates Batanes from Taiwan.
Chinese ships collide during clash with Philippine coastguard in contested South China Sea
