Rising up for Benham Rise
IT’S an invigorating piece of good news that came from Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana amid what was seen as a “puzzling show of defeatism” arising from a view that nothing can be done against what are perceived to be China’s creeping moves to gobble up areas within our country’s jurisdiction.
That the Philippine Navy has deployed its warship BRP Ramon Alcaraz to form part of intensified patrols over the 13-million-hectare Benham Rise, an undersea region rich in biodiversity, minerals, and gas deposits off eastern Luzon, is certainly reassuring to Filipinos who fear that we are slowly losing territory by default, timidity, or even cowardice.
“The Navy will henceforth regularly patrol Benham Rise partly due to past Chinese activities there but, more importantly, because it is part of our continental shelf and awarded to us [by the United Nations],” Lorenzana said last week. “Our next activity is to have the area surveyed to clearly determine its limits, depths, coral formations.”
The furor over Benham Rise arose when Lorenzana earlier disclosed that Chinese survey ships had a prolonged stay in the area for about three months, raising suspicions that the ships were out there not only for “innocent passage” as claimed by Chinese officials. In an apparent bid to allay fears resulting from the seemingly suspicious activities, President Duterte said he had given permission for China to conduct oceanographic surveys in the area.
But many couldn’t help being alarmed. Lorenzana’ revelation came at about the same time that news broke out over reports of China’s intent to build radar facilities on Panatag Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. And many find unacceptable our President’s response to the disturbing news: “Wala tayong magagawa dyan (There’s nothing we can do),” he said. “What do you want me to do? Declare war against China?”
Describing the presidential response as a “show of defeatism” that was quite disheartening, some are asking: Does war have to be the only option to resolve the conflict? Should we be “mobilizing the tools and opportunities of international diplomacy to pressure China to ease up on its expansionism?” And considering that our country holds this year’s chairmanship of the Asean, how about “mobilizing the consensus of Asean, a number of whose members are also disputing China’s claims in the region?”
Social media was also ablaze over the President’s reaction. “The Chinese carefully calculates our cowardice. We are telling them they are right. They are winning a war without firing a shot,” commented a dismayed netizen.
The public uproar over the seeming assertiveness of China on both sides of our archipelago clearly shows the level of distrust that most Filipinos have towards China. Even during the latest DZMM teleradyo program, Magpayo nga Kayo (Saturdays, 9:30 to 10:30 am), which I now co-host with veteran broadcaster May Valle Ceniza, most of the listeners who called in or sent text messages viewed China negatively.
And they can’t be blamed. The apparent trickery in past incursions into islands within our Exclusive Economic Zone can’t be forgotten. China erected a weather station on Fiery Cross Reef in 1987 ostensibly “to help UNESCO’s global oceanic survey,” only to transform it into a 250-hectare military base. In 1995, China snatched Mischief Reef on the pretext of building on it a shelter for fishermen caught in storms at sea. China was also able to grab Panatag Shoal in 2012 when it didn’t honor an agreement to withdraw after a standoff.
Thus, any hint that our exclusive sovereign rights and jurisdiction over Benham Rise—recognized in April 2012 by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as part of the continental shelf of the Philippines—could probably suffer the same fate as that of other areas in our EEZ, ought to be met with stiff resistance and condemnation.
Our leaders and we as a patriotic people, owe it to the future generations of Filipinos to preserve our natural patrimony. Our sense of patriotism and nationhood ought to impel us to do all we can to show the world that ours is a self-respecting country.
If a tiny nation like Taiwan is able to face up to a giant bully all these years, or if Israel can stand its ground despite being surrounded by its enemies, so can the Philippines. Our glorious past—with our heroes resisting foreign invaders who trampled upon our sacred shores—is a shining testament to our courage and tenacity to defend and protect what is rightfully ours.