‘WE’RE OFF BENHAM RISE’
Palace receives word that China won’t take Benham Rise Defense Sec. Lorenzana earlier revealed Chinese ships movement on Benham Rise
China has assured President Rodrigo Duterte that it would not claim Benham Rise, the underwater landmass northeast of Luzon declared as part of the Philippines’ continental shelf, the Chief Executive said Friday.
In a culmination event in observance of International Women’s Month, Duterte said he was briefed in a joint police and military command conference that the country has sole sovereign rights over Benham Rise.
“I received word about Benham Rise,” Duterte said in a speech he delivered at the Palace grounds Friday evening.
“They explained that (China said), ‘ We will not claim Benham Rise. Benham Rise (is) on the right side of the Philippines, part of the continental shelf,’” he added.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana earlier revealed the suspicious activities of a Chinese survey ship near Benham Rise that lasted for three months in 2016.
Benham Rise, a 13-million hectare undersea region that lies east of Luzon and off the provinces of Isabela and Aurora, is believed to be a rich source of natural gas and other resources like heavy metals.
The Philippines’ claim over Benham Rose was embodied in Archipelagic Baselines Law. In April 1012, it was confirmed by the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Law of the Sea that Benham Rise is part of the Philippines’ continental shelf.
Three years after, the UN Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf also approve the country’s claim for the Benham Rise to be part of its extended continental shelf.
The Philippine Coast Guard is expected to patrol Benham Rise in May, the first time it would embark on such mission since the UN commission ruled that Philippines has sovereign rights over Benham Rise.
I received word about Benham Rise...They explained that China said, ‘ We will not claim Benham Rise. Benham rise (is) on the right side of the Philippines, part of the continental shelf.” PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE