Filipinos free to conduct research in Benham Rise

The government is not favoring China over Filipinos and other foreign nations in the exploration of the Philippine Rise, formerly called Benham Rise, Malacañang said yesterday.

Even as China has been allowed to conduct research in the area, presidential spokesman Harry Roque clarified that Filipinos could explore the Benham Rise without getting the consent of the government.

"I never said that Filipinos cannot conduct research in Benham Rise. On the contrary, only Filipinos can do so even without express consent of our state," Roque said. "We have the sovereign rights to explore and exploit the resources in Benham Rise," he added.

The government has also approved research requests made by the United States, Japan, and South Korea on the Behnam Rise, according to Roque.

"This hopefully puts to rest the issue that the current administration is favoring China in the issue of Benham Rise," he said.

Roque made the clarification after some maritime experts questioned his recent statement claiming Filipinos could not undertake the Benham Rise research due to high cost.

He encouraged the public to view his statement on the issue "in its entirety."

"I was referring to China when I said 'no one has applied and no one can do it, because, apparently, it’s capital-intensive,'" he pointed out.