Philippines to give Benham Rise undersea features Filipino names

MANILA, Philippines — Features in the Philippine Rise given Chinese names by Beijing would eventually have Filipino names, Malacañang said yesterday.

“We have sovereign rights and we have the power to give names. I repeat, China will not be angry with us just because we changed the Chinese names. We also changed the American name. This is in line with the independent foreign policy of our President,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a press briefing.

Maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal earlier revealed that China had earned naming rights to five undersea features in what used to be called Benham Rise, a 13-million-hectare submerged continental shelf off Aurora province declared by the United Nations as part of Philippine territory in 2012. President Duterte renamed Benham Rise to Philippine Rise last year after Chinese research ships were spotted in the area.

The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) approved the Chinese names last year, Batongbacal said.

The five features now with Chinese names were the Jinghao Seamount, Tianbao Seamount, Haidonquing Seamount, Cuiqiao Hill and Jujiu Seamount.

The Duterte administration has denounced the Chinese action and ordered the Philippine embassy to raise its concerns before Beijing.

Roque expressed belief there was no bad faith on the part of China when it gave Chinese names to the five features, as naming an area is not the same as claiming it.

“The international community follows a process and we’re not attributing any bad faith to China but we’re just saying respect us too, that we will give Philippine names to them,” Roque said.

Roque said the Philippines was not notified of the Chinese action because it is not a member of the IHO’s Sub-Committee on Undersea Feature Names.

He said the foreign affairs department would soon nominate Philippine experts in the body.

“Our stand is it would be up to you what name you will propose but we will give Philippine names,” the spokesman said. He stressed the development would not affect Philippine-China relations as the Philippine Rise is not a disputed territory.

“Maybe it will be affected if these things happened in areas where there is ongoing dispute. It is very clear that Benham Rise is under our sovereign rights,” he said.

“We do not see any basis for China to be alarmed with our position that we will insist on naming rights,” he added.

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano stressed the administration is actively engaged in protecting the country’s interests in the West Philippine Sea but not in the way that could heighten tension.

“Just because we are not in an open shouting match with China, or arguing in public, doesn’t mean that the issues aren’t being dealt with decisively. On the contrary, we are not only exerting efforts but also getting things done,” Cayetano said in a statement.

He said continuous talks and diplomatic actions have led to greater mutual trust and confidence and eventually cooperation.

The overall situation in the South China Sea, he said, has become more stable than in past years and the warm and friendly relations with China have resulted in “tremendous” economic benefits for the Philippines.

He identified some positive developments in the South China Sea, including the commitment of China not to build on uninhabited features in accordance with the Declaration of Conduct on the South China Sea (DOC).

Cayetano said Filipino fishermen now have access to disputed areas and parties have put in place measures to ensure protection of the environment and marine ecosystem.

“Let me note that our fishermen are back exercising their livelihood in Scarborough Shoal, and overall, the situation in the greater South China Sea has become more stable than in past years,” he added.

Cayetano also cited the more than $24 billion worth of assistance, investment, pledges and commercial loans from China, earmarked mostly for infrastructure development under the “Build Build Build” program. – Pia Lee-Brago