Philippines rejects Chinese scholars' claim over its island province near Taiwan

MANILA, July 9 (Reuters) - The defence minister of the Philippines on Thursday rejected as "baseless" and "ludicrous" assertions by Chinese scholars that its northernmost island-chain province belongs to Beijing, calling the ​claim concerning and worthy of challenge.

Chinese state-run news site GDToday reported on ‌July 2 that scholars from institutions including Nanjing University argued at a June 30 symposium that Batanes was a natural extension of Taiwan and therefore belonged to China.

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Beijing has not formally endorsed that ​position.

The assertions may add a new dimension to long-running tensions between Manila and ​Beijing, which are already embroiled in multiple disputes over islands and ⁠features in the South China Sea.

"I view this, once again, as probably a signal ​of a preconceived intention," Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro told reporters.

"It is not far-fetched to ​think that this is already part of their plan. And it also validates what we have been saying that they have a plan to control the entire Pacific Ocean."

"What is this for, right? ​And we know this is baseless. This is nonsense. It is ludicrous," he ​said. "So this is concerning, and it is something that must be challenged," he added, but did not ‌elaborate.

The ⁠Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Teodoro's remarks.

Batanes, home to about 20,000 people, is about 160 km (100 miles) south of Taiwan along the strategically important Luzon Strait, a key passage linking the South ​China Sea and the ​Pacific Ocean.

It has ⁠become increasingly important in security planning and has hosted joint military exercises involving Philippine and allied U.S. forces.

Beijing previously sanctioned Teodoro and his ​close relatives over what it said were "erroneous remarks" made about ​China.

The scholars' ⁠comments came weeks after the Philippines and Japan announced in May they would begin formal talks on delimiting the maritime boundary of their exclusive economic zones and continental shelves in ⁠accordance ​with international law, a move China criticised.

Beijing claims almost the ​entire South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which more than $3 trillion in trade passes annually, despite ​a 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated those claims.

Reporting by Nestor Corrales; Editing by Martin Petty

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