The researchers argue that places such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste were never connected to the mainland during this period, yet somehow contain evidence of human occupation.
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maybe they should look at geological maps of the period which show they were all connected.
Plate tectonics would not have had those islands in touch over a 40,000 year span. Plus the water depths are vastly too deep for even the strongest ice age drop in sea levels to land bridge them together. Thousands of feet water depths vs 400 ish for eustatic sea level chance. The only way humans got there was via long distance deep water crossings.
Maybe you should, because they weren’t connected.