By Priam Nepomuceno
MANILA – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Monday dismissed as “propaganda” Chinese social media reports claiming that Palawan province was once part of China.
“It’s very well known that they really come out with a lot of propaganda materials,” AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said in an interview with ANC.
Posts emerged on Chinese social media platforms claiming that Palawan was Zheng He island, named after a Chinese explorer.
Although the platforms are not official government channels, social media in China is controlled and closely monitored.
Palawan lies outside the so-called nine-dash line that China used on its maps to claim a vast, resource-rich area in the West Philippine Sea.
The Philippines and China have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, including several features near Palawan.
Padilla urged the public to help in safeguarding the country’s territory by stopping the spread of fake news, misinformation and disinformation.
“And help us to put the right narrative out there with the international ruling favoring the Philippines, there is a very great online presence of the Filipinos, and we can leverage on that to help each other out and spread the right narrative out there and for the whole world to know,” she added.
“With us, we know that for a fact, international laws are behind the Philippines,” Padilla said, citing the arbitral ruling that invalidated China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that China’s claim of historic rights to resources within its so-called nine-dash line had no basis in law.
Padilla said the AFP would continue to “uphold this and guard our sovereignty and our sovereign rights as well.” (PNA)
