Wala umanong “merit” ang mga pahayag ng China hinggil sa tila pang-aangkin nito sa lalawigan ng Batanes, na siyang malinaw na pag-aari ng Pilipinas.
Kaugnay ito sa umugong na usapin patungkol sa ilang Chinese scholars na tila iginiit sa isang symposium na natural extension umano ng Taiwan ang Batanes, kung kaya’t dapat lamang daw na maisailalim ang nasabing probinsya sa China.
KAUGNAY NA BALITA: Teodoro, Tarriela pumalag: Batanes, 'natural extension' ng Taiwan sey ng ilang Chinese scholars!-Balita
Pagdidiin ng National Security Council (NSC) of the Philippines, hindi nila kayang ibalewala ang paulit-ulit na maling naratibong ito.
“We view with serious concern reports that Chinese scholars are advancing the notion that Batanes belongs to China,” saad ng NSC sa kanilang pahayag nitong Biyernes, Hulyo 10.
Anila, “There is no ambiguity on this matter: Batanes is an integral and indivisible part of the Republic of the Philippines.”
“The claim that Batanes belongs to China has no merit. But from a national security perspective, we cannot ignore how false narratives can be repeated to manufacture ambiguity where none exists,” dagdag pa nila.
Giit pa ng ahensya, pinoprotektahan lamang nito ang teritoryo at kinabukasan ng bansa—gayundin ang mga Pilipino.
“This is especially relevant as we mark the 10th Anniversary of the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award,” anang ahensya.
Giit pa nila, “A decade later, its lesson is not simply that the Philippines prevailed in a legal case. We are not after winning arguments. We are protecting our territory, our people, and our future.”
“The Award reminds us of what is at stake when baseless narratives are allowed to harden into claims, claims are used to justify presence, and presence is used to normalize coercion. That is why we will not allow manufactured history to become manufactured rights, nor a fabricated dispute to take root over what is unquestionably ours,” dagdag pa nila.
Paliwanag ng NSC, ang Batanes ay sa Pilipinas; at mananatiling bahagi ng Republika.
“Ten years after the Arbitral Award, we know how false claims begin, and we will not allow them to take root,” anila.
“Batanes is, and will always remain, an integral and indivisible part of the Republic of the Philippines. There is no dispute to settle, no claim to negotiate, and no ambiguity to resolve,” pagtatapos ng NSC.
