A recent report says Chinese scholars at a 30 June 2026 symposium at Jinan University claimed that China has sovereignty over Batanes, describing the islands as a “natural geographical extension” of Taiwan. Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro rejected the claim as baseless and ludicrous, while the Department of Foreign Affairs stated that Philippine sovereignty over Batanes is settled and not open to debate. The claim is so flimsy that even a small eighteenth-century print helps expose the problem. This is one of those occasions, I often bookmark to share with students, to prove that art history can also be a tool for rebuffing foolish geopolitical claims.