Indo-Pacific — 2026-07-13

Philippines Marks 10th Anniversary of South China Sea Ruling as China Scholars Challenge Sovereignty Over Batanes Islands

BLUFBeijing's extension of sovereignty contestation from maritime zones to Philippine land territory near Taiwan signals a broadening gray-zone campaign that will test Manila's expanded deterrence partnerships.

The Philippines marked the tenth anniversary of the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling against China's South China Sea claims, with Foreign Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro calling the decision legally binding and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro citing it as affirmation of Philippine rights within its exclusive economic zone 12. China's embassy in Manila reiterated it would never recognize the ruling, calling it "illegal, null and void" 1. The Philippines separately rejected a late-June symposium statement from scholars at Guangdong's Jinan University asserting that the Batanes Islands, administered by Manila since the 18th century, are a geographic extension of Taiwan; National Security Adviser Eduardo Oban said the claim had "no merit" but reflected an effort to "manufacture ambiguity," and Beijing's Foreign Ministry said it does not comment on academic views 3. Philippine military chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. called for expanded deterrence cooperation with the United States and other partners, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong criticized Chinese vessel conduct in the disputed waters 12.

Analysis
The Jinan University claim functions less as legal argument than signaling, extending Beijing's contestation from maritime EEZ boundaries to land territory adjacent to Taiwan, and Manila's "manufacture ambiguity" framing shows officials now treat academic pronouncements as part of the same gray-zone toolkit as coast guard incidents. Beijing's Foreign Ministry distancing itself while the university scrubbed the statement suggests deniability is deliberate, though the claim may also reflect independent academic argument rather than directed state messaging. Sourcing draws on one primary Philippine outlet corroborated independently by two secondary outlets with consistent official quotation, indicating convergent rather than single-source reporting. The anniversary messaging pairs legal continuity with expanded deterrence appeals to Washington and Canberra, a shift from prior fourteen-nation statements addressing only the arbitral ruling.

3 sources

PH marks 10th year of arbitration victory - Manila Times
Philippines marks 10 years since historic South China Sea court ruling - Radio Free Asia
Philippines rejects Chinese academics' sovereignty claims to Batanes Islands - Japan Times