March 3, 2025
MANILA – The government should increase maritime patrols in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) after China claimed Palawan island once belonged to the Asian superpower, former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said Sunday.
Colmenares said China is “delusional” over its false claim circulating on Chinese social media Rednote that Palawan once belonged to them.
According to the post, the Philippines should return Palawan to China, claiming that its original name was “Zheng He Island” after the famous 14th-century Chinese explorer.
“These claims are not just historically inaccurate but represent a dangerous pattern of territorial aggression masked as historical rights … We must increase Philippine Coast Guard patrols in the area as well as joint patrols with other claimants in the West Philippine Sea,” said Colmenares, who chairs Bayan Muna.
“The Chinese government is once again showing mania in claiming that Palawan used to belong to them. This is not just a distortion of history—it is a territorial claim disguised as historical fact,” he added.
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has also debunked China’s claim on Palawan.
According to Colmenares, China’s claim does not match the established historical and archaeological evidence, and the NHCP “already confirmed that Palawan has been continuously inhabited for 50,000 years.”
“There is zero evidence of any permanent Chinese settlement or governance. Palawan is Filipino territory, plain and simple,” he added.
Beijing’s continued aggression was based on its assertion of sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, including most of the WPS, as it continues to reject a July 2016 Arbitral Award that effectively dismissed its claims and ruled in favor of Manila.
The landmark ruling stemmed from a case filed by Manila in 2013, a year after its tense standoff with Beijing over the Panatag Shoal, which China now controls.