Manila, March 7 Strongly refuting the recent Chinese claims over Palawan Island, the Philippines on Friday called it as part of Beijing's "cognitive warfare" and asserted that Palawan is, and always will be, a part of the archipelagic Southeast Asian country.
Slamming the social media post circulating in Weibo and other Chinese social media platforms, the Philippines' National Maritime Council (NMC) stated that claims of Palawan belonging to China are "another form of disinformation" and should be disapproved and rejected to prevent both Chinese and the Filipinos from being fooled into believing it.
In an interview to state run broadcaster People's Television Network, NMC spokesperson Alexander Lopez said, "This is part of their so-called 'cognitive warfare' wherein they (Chinese) are trying to shape the minds of internal and external audiences so that the opinion would shift in their favour".
The Chinese social media post claimed that Palawan, a frontline province in the maritime dispute between the Philippines and China, was supposedly originally called 'Zheng He Island' after a 14th-century Chinese explorer.
Lopez, however, said that there has been no historical account that Zheng had ever set foot on Palawan.
"It has to be very clear that while it is true that a certain Admiral Zheng visited Southeast Asia in the 15th and 14th centuries, there is no historical record that he visited Palawan," he said.
He mentioned that even if the explorer had visited Palawan, it does not make the province part of China's territory. "It has to be very clear: Palawan has been, is and will always be part of the Philippine territory; there's no debate here," local media in the Philippines quoted Lopez as saying.
Earlier this week, Philippines' National Security Advisor (NSA) Eduardo Ano termed the Chinese claims on Palawan as "baseless and revisionist".
The NSA also said the assertions are outright fabrications intended to distort history, deceive the public, and challenge the Philippines' sovereignty over its lawful and internationally recognised territory.
"Palawan has always been and will always remain an integral part of the Philippines. No historical record, legal precedent nor any credible evidence support the claim that Palawan was ever under Chinese sovereignty," said Ano.
China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea has been a growing cause of concern for many Southeast Asian nations, including the Philippines. China makes sweeping claims of sovereignty over the South China Sea, which has untapped natural resources, including oil and natural gas
In July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, while adjudicating the Philippines' case against China in the South China Sea, determined that major elements of China's claim, including its nine-dash line, land reclamation activities, and other activities in Philippine waters, were unlawful. China reacted negatively to the ruling, maintaining that it was "null and void".
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