MANILA – The defence minister of the Philippines on July 9 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.

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 160km 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 US forces.