The US media "Wall Street Journal" reported that China's move to expand its influence in the Pacific has a new target: the Batanes Islands in the Philippines. These islands are crucial to the United States' defense of Taiwan and have become China's next "gray zone" target.
If China wants to launch an attack on Taiwan, it is likely to need to control the Taiwan Strait. The Batanes Islands are located in the southern part of Taiwan waters and have geopolitical importance. These islands have been part of the Philippines since colonial times. But earlier this year, a group of academics with ties to Chinese officials suggested that the Batanes actually belong to Beijing. Chinese state media subsequently promoted the claim.
The Philippines responded quickly. The defense minister called it ridiculous, and the country's National Historical Commission issued a detailed rebuttal.
Still, the sovereignty of the Batanes appears to be in doubt, the latest step in Beijing's "grey zone" campaign to project power in the Pacific and beyond.
"This is a pattern that has been seen before," said Hunter Marston, director of the Southeast Asia program at the Australia-based Lowy Institute, noting that Chinese academics are increasingly inclined to speak in line with the government's views. "To think that this is just a view put forward by some academics... is not entirely correct," he said.
At a seminar in June in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, Chinese scholars concluded that the Batanes are a geographical extension of Taiwan and therefore the islands are part of China, according to a statement from a school at Jinan University. Scholars also said a treaty signed with the United States after the Spanish War placed the Philippines under U.S. jurisdiction, but the treaty did not cover the islands, the statement said. They also emphasized the cultural connection between the local residents of Batanes and Taiwan's aborigines.
China has long sought to expand its influence in surrounding areas, often using strategies that do not resort to armed occupation or conflict. For example, the Chinese Coast Guard controls access to disputed islands and reefs in the South China Sea, Chinese warplanes conduct reconnaissance in the airspace around Taiwan, and Beijing builds settlements in disputed areas in the Himalayas.
There is no doubt about Batanes' strategic position. The islands are just 100 miles southeast of Taiwan and overlook the Bashi Strait, which China must control if it wants to encircle Taiwan in a conflict or blockade.
The United States has led military exercises designed to prepare for a possible conflict with China in and around the Batanes Islands. Recently, the United States has also deployed a mobile missile system in the Batanes Islands to attack Chinese ships in the strait from there.
Approximately 19,000 people live in the Batanes. Despite the tropical climate, some visitors liken the scenery to the Scottish Highlands. The language spoken by the local Ivatan people is similar to the Taoist aboriginal language of Orchid Island, an offshore island in Taiwan.
Joseph Courtula, the mayor of Itbayat, the northernmost city of the archipelago, said, "We know very well that the Batanes are ours"; "The Batanes are not part of China."
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines says the islands are part of a continuous continental shelf extending from northern Luzon. The committee also stated that when British explorers arrived in the 17th century, they found no traces of Chinese rule; Spain officially claimed sovereignty over the islands in 1783; and representatives of the Batanes have had seats in every Philippine National Assembly since the late 19th century.
Over the past year and a half, the Philippines has repeatedly spotted Chinese coast guard and scientific research vessels operating near the Batanes Islands, where important undersea cables are laid. Recently, the Philippine Coast Guard sent a large ship and an aircraft to the Batanes Islands to drive away a Chinese marine survey ship. The Chinese Coast Guard also participated in the operation.
The Philippines stated that the ship was operating within its exclusive economic zone and that China did not seek permission from the Philippines in advance. However, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines stated that the ship was operating in waters under Chinese jurisdiction and asked the Philippines to stop interfering in and hyping up China's normal navigation and scientific research activities.
Making scholarly views public is another way Beijing pressures its rivals. Although no Chinese official has officially backed the Batanes claim, the academic discussion comes after the Philippines and Japan began talks over maritime boundaries in waters east of Taiwan that Beijing considers part of its territory.
Analysts say Beijing's claims to the Batanes further provide justification for its ships to operate in waters beyond the first island chain. The first island chain extends from Japan to the Philippines and is an important line of defense for the United States in conflicts in the Pacific. Earlier this year, the Chinese Coast Guard stepped up patrols in waters east of Taiwan.
