The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has strongly condemned and refuted recent Chinese claims over Palawan Island, as posted on Weibo and other Chinese social media platforms. In a statement, the NHCP dismissed claims that Palawan was historically governed by China for a thousand years, emphasizing that exploration does not equate to sovereign ownership. The NHCP clarified that there is no evidence of permanent Chinese settlement in Palawan, which has been continuously inhabited for over 50,000 years. Historical accounts, including those from Italian chronicler Antonio Pigafetta, who joined Magellan’s expedition, do not mention Chinese settlement. Palawan has long been populated by communities with cultural ties to the rest of the Philippine archipelago. The NHCP cited historical maps from the 1500s to the 1800s that recognized Palawan as part of the Philippine archipelago, administered by the Sultan of Sulu and the Spanish Captain-Generalcy of the Philippines. The 1898 Treaty of Paris and the 1900 Treaty of Washington further solidified the island’s inclusion in the Philippines. The NHCP criticized China’s shifting claims, including the Nine-Dash Line, which was declared illegal by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016, and reiterated that Palawan is and will always be an integral part of the Philippines.
