China says Batanes is a natural extension of Taiwan. Because the Philippines is smaller. Therefore, Batanes is China.

“We want it, and you are too small to stop us.”

They used to make it sound complicated because they had to. “Qing dynasty.” “Chinese fishermen.”

Nine-dash line: nine broken little dashes, shaking on the map, not even confident enough to connect. Did not even originally include Batanes. So now China is expanding a fake line too fake to reach the island in the first place. Revise the fake part to fit the new fantasy.

Taiwan is not theirs. So they say: “Fine. Because history.”

What history? “Old boats.” Old boats are not deeds. China: “Fine. Because culture.” Culture is not sovereignty. “Because geography.” Geography is not ownership. China: “OK. Because we are big.”

There it is.

“Might makes right,” spoken in professor because their Navy cannot say, “We are stronger and we think you will fold.”

If you hawk a loogie on someone else’s clean street, of course you’re the type to rewrite maps. Trapped in the past, spitting in the present, because if this were really about “legitimate” ancient history, China would also be shouting about Vladivostok.

Awkward.

Vladivostok was Haishenwai in Chinese history. China lost it to Russia. 1800s. If memory is now the test, then surely China must be very upset about Vladivostok.

No? Why not?

Is the Qing dynasty busy today?

Where is the professor? The symposium? The old map? Where are the 4,000-year-old fishermen now?

Chinese history expands exactly where the oil, ships, reefs, and military advantage are and, somehow, skips every empire that ever shoved China around. Japan in Manchuria. Britain in HK. Portugal in Macau. Germany in Qingdao. How fast China becomes a modern-law country when the other party has nuclear weapons.

Gibo Teodoro says the claim is ludicrous. But, Sec., China does not need the claim to be believable. It needs the claim to be discussable.

Batanes is Philippine. It just is. Nobody has to explain it. Like saying your forehead is yours.

Then China walks in and says, “Actually, historically, your forehead is my grandfather.”

Now you are explaining your forehead to strangers. That is the scam.

China creates a fake problem so the Philippines has to defend a real fact.

The Philippines responds. Of course. “Sovereignty.” “Unclos.” “Hague.” “Baseless.”

All true. What happened?

Before, “Batanes is Philippine.” Now, here is a Chinese claim over Batanes. Tiny shift is very big poison.

China is testing the world’s tolerance for nonsense. How much garbage can Beijing spew before newspapers, diplomats, academics stop laughing and start saying the matter is complex.

Then, one day, if Philippine or US, Japan, Australian forces operate there, joint exercises, Balikatan, China can say: “You are militarizing a disputed area.”

Once the world accepts that there is an “issue,” China can complain, warn. It can patrol nearby.

It can pressure Manila, make Tarriela look aggressive for treating Batanes as EEZ. “You’re provoking China.” It can tell Japan and the US to stay away because activity in a disputed territory is escalation.

Look at how careful the world is with Taiwan. The UN. Even America, biggest mouth on earth, does the dance: arms Taiwan, trades with Taiwan, sends officials quietly to Taiwan, depends on the chips the whole planet needs, but still pretends it’s “not a country” because Beijing goes insane.

That is China’s racket. Make everyone treat Taiwan like a country with a government, elections, passport, money, army, then deny it in words.

Now they want Batanes. Declare the lie, make the world tiptoe around the lie, act like Batanes is Chinese, then punish anyone who says, obviously, it’s in the Philippines.