The National Security Council (NSC) on Tuesday refuted claims that Palawan province was “historically part of China,” stressing that the area had never been put under Chinese sovereignty.

“We categorically reject the baseless and revisionist claims circulating on Chinese social media that Palawan was historically part of China and should be ‘returned’ to it,” National Security Adviser, Secretary Eduardo Año, said in a statement. 

Año slammed such assertions, describing them as “outright fabrications intended to distort history, deceive the public, and challenge the Philippines' sovereignty over its lawful and internationally recognized territory.”

“Palawan has always been and will always remain an integral part of the Republic of the Philippines. No historical record, legal precedent, nor credible evidence support the claim that Palawan was ever under Chinese sovereignty,” he said. 

Año mentioned the archaeological findings, centuries of indigenous and colonial governance, and internationally binding treaties.

He said the 1898 Treaty of Paris and the 1900 Treaty of Washington unequivocally establish the Philippines' ownership of Palawan.

“The claim that Palawan was once named "Zheng He Island" is an outright fabrication with no basis in fact,” he noted. 

The NSC chief noted that there is no historical record that Admiral Zheng He, a Chinese explorer, visited Southeast Asian waters in the 14th and 15th centuries, nor that he ever visited Palawan.

“Even if he did, such visit does not equate to ownership, just as the voyages of other explorers do not alter the sovereignty of nations today,” Año lamented. 

The NSC, he said, is currently tracing the source of what he called “disinformation,” which first appeared in the Chinese social media app Weibo and Red Note, a TikTok-like mobile application.

“We wish to underscore that they do not come from official government sites nor have they been carried by Chinese mainstream media outlets,” he said.

“Nonetheless, these false narratives, proliferated through digital disinformation and information warfare tactics, appear to be part of a broader effort to undermine Philippine sovereignty and manipulate public perception both in the Philippines and China,” he added. 

Año urges the Filipino people and the international community to remain vigilant against disinformation campaigns and rely on verified historical and legal sources “rather than propaganda designed to advance a geopolitical agenda at the expense of truth.”