MANILA: The Philippines rejected on Friday (Jul 10) a statement from a group of Chinese academics that the country's northernmost islands rightfully belonged to Beijing.The Batanes Islands are located fewer than 200km from self-ruled Taiwan - which China considers part of its territory - and have hosted joint Philippine-US military drills as recently as April.At the end of June, a university in southern China's Guangdong said it had held a symposium of over 10 "scholars and experts", which had determined the Batanes were geographically an extension of Taiwan.The statement from Jinan University, picked up by some news outlets this week, also disputed Manila's historical claim to the islands, which is home to fewer than 20,000 people. Asked whether this reflected China's official position, B