'Bully Manila, Not Moscow': PH Digital Newspaper Jibes China About Lost Russian Territory in Batanes Row

A Philippine digital newspaper has hit back at China's disputed claim over Batanes with a satirical Facebook post invoking Beijing's own lost territory of Vladivostok. Daily Tribune's post, headlined 'Bully Manila, Not Moscow', argued that if historical claims justified China's assertion over the Philippine province, then Beijing should logically be pursuing the Russian port city too.

The jibe followed a real and escalating diplomatic row. Chinese scholars had argued at a symposium that Batanes was a natural extension of Taiwan and therefore belonged to China, a claim Philippine officials have firmly rejected.

Chinese Scholars' Claim Draws Official Pushback

The claim originated from a 30 June symposium at Jinan University, where scholars from Chinese universities and research institutions concluded that the Batan Islands are a natural geographical extension of Taiwan, with sovereignty belonging to China, according to a report by Guangdong-based news site Newsgd.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs dismissed the claim outright. Spokesperson Analyn Ratonel said 'flights of fancy should not be dignified with a response', adding that Philippine sovereignty over Batanes remains settled, according to a statement.

AFP Special Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, was equally blunt. He told Daily Tribune the claim was 'another false narrative', joking that he would not be surprised if China's next claim was Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto.

Satirical Post Mocks Beijing's Logic

Daily Tribune, a mainstream Philippine outlet, responded with two satirical Facebook posts clearly labelled as such. The first, shared on 10 July, claimed the Philippines now 'owns' China by applying the same reverse logic Beijing had used on Batanes.

The second post, 'Bully Manila, Not Moscow', pointed to Vladivostok, a Russian port city once controlled by Qing dynasty China before it was ceded to Russia in the 1800s. The post argued that China never raises historical claims against countries with greater military strength, naming Russia, Japan, Britain, Portugal and Germany as examples where old territorial losses go unmentioned.

Both posts were explicitly tagged 'satire' and framed as commentary rather than factual assertions.

Lawmaker Calls Claim 'An Affront'

Batanes Representative Ciriaco Gato Jr also issued a formal rebuke. He said Batanes is a province of the Republic of the Philippines and that the Ivatans are Filipinos, according to a statement.

Gato went further, describing the claim as more than a diplomatic irritation. He called it an affront to national identity that the Philippines will not tolerate, per the same statement.

Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro also weighed in, calling the assertions 'baseless and ludicrous' during remarks at the National West Philippine Sea Summit, held to mark the tenth anniversary of the 2016 arbitral ruling against China.

Timing Adds to Tensions

The satirical response has landed at a sensitive moment. It comes days before the tenth anniversary of the Hague tribunal's 2016 ruling, which invalidated China's nine-dash line claim over the South China Sea, and shortly after the Philippines and Japan announced talks to delimit maritime boundaries east of Taiwan.

Analysts tracking China's maritime activity, including Stanford-based initiative SeaLight, have flagged the Batanes claim as a possible test of international tolerance rather than a formal policy position. Whether satirical or not, the exchange underscores how territorial disputes in the region are increasingly being fought as much in the information space as at sea.