Armed Forces of the Philippines Special Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad (Ret./Res.) on Thursday rejected claims by Chinese academics that Batanes belongs to China, calling the assertion a false narrative.

"Another false narrative being peddled to cover up their failure in BdM [Bajo de Masinloc]. I won't be surprised if their next claim will be Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto," Trinidad told DAILY TRIBUNE.

His statement came after Chinese state-owned media outlet Guangdong News reported that scholars from Nanjing University, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and other institutions urged the international community to recognize what they described as China's historical and legal basis for sovereignty over Batanes.

The scholars reportedly claimed that Batanes is a "natural geographic extension of Taiwan" and therefore falls under China's sovereignty. They also questioned the validity of maritime delimitation talks between Japan and the Philippines.

Batanes, the Philippines' northernmost province, lies between Luzon and Taiwan along the Bashi Channel, a strategic waterway connecting the South China Sea and the western Pacific.

AFP chief of public affairs Col. Xerxes Trinidad said Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro had already addressed the issue during his keynote speech at the National West Philippine Sea Summit.

According to the AFP official, Teodoro also criticized China for refusing to recognize the 2016 Arbitral Award and raised concerns over alleged espionage and influence activities in the Philippines and other countries.