President Duterte vows to protect Benham Rise
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Monday said the Benham Rise is exclusively Philippine property, stressing he would not allow other nations to intrude in the area except for innocent passage of foreign vessels.
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President Rodrigo
Roa Duterte discusses matters with former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile
regarding the disputed waters in the West Philippine Sea prior to his talk to
the people at the Malacañang Golf (Malago) Clubhouse in Malacañang Park, Manila
on May 17, 2021. SIMEON CELI PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO
Benham rise became a topic for
discussion after former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile suggested that the
Philippine government exploit the area using resources from economic dealing
with China.
“I have made it clear to all, to the
world, that I will not allow any intrusion there. Well, of course, the right to
innocent passage is everybody’s privilege,” President Duterte said during his
weekly public address.
“But to allow anybody, even to just try
to exploit or to even to look in, you know, I will not allow them to do that
because that belongs --- Philippine Rise belongs to the Filipino people.”
Enrile, who was a guest during the
President’s Talk to the People, suggested that whatever the country can get
from China on the West Philippine Sea, it must be used to strengthen the
Philippine military capability and to exploit Benham Rise.
The former Senate leader said that
assuming there’s no dispute about the country’s right over exclusive economic
exploitation of West Philippine Sea assets, it still needs foreign money to
make it a source of wealth for the nation.
The choice is either go to Europe and
get technology and capital to explore and exploit the energy resources in the
economic zone in West Philippine Sea, or to deal directly with China.
China, he said, is now very advanced in
terms of energy exploration, having major operations in Africa and elsewhere.
“As far as I am concerned, we will not
gain anything by antagonizing China. I’m not pro-China. I’m not... I do not
have any interest in China,” he said.
“But as a Filipino, I will take this
position to protect my countrymen, to protect our core territory, to protect
our economy. Maybe we can get better by talking with China instead of being
aggressive.”
Benham Rise is a 13 million hectare
under sea region east of Luzon and is 35 meters underwater at its shallowest
point off the provinces of Aurora and Isabela.
In April 2012, the United Nation (UN)
officially approved and recognized the claim of the Philippines in strict
compliance with the requirements of the United Nations Convention on the law of
the Sea (UNCLOS).
Wider than the entire Luzon, Samar, and
Leyte combined, it became official part of the Philippines because it is the
only country within 200 nautical miles of the plateau.
UN’s recognition enables the
Philippines to extract abundant mineral, oil and natural gas of Benham Rise,
which is believed to have mineral and gas deposits, providing the country with
its own energy source. PND
