MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte will no longer push through with his plan of riding a jet ski to the Philippine or Benham Rise, an underwater plateau off the coast of Aurora.
On Tuesday morning, jet skis were spotted aboard the Philippine Navy's BRP Davao del Sur, where the commemoration rites of the first year of the renaming of Philippine Rise will be held.
According to Special Assistant to the President Bong Go, he and presidential son Sebastian "Baste" Duterte will be riding a jet ski through the waters in the Philippine Rise area.
READ: Duterte may ride jet ski to uncontested Benham Rise
The younger Duterte, however, would appear to be only riding through a vast expanse of water since there are no islands in the area as the Philippine Rise is an underwater plateau.
In 2016, Duterte made a promise to ride a jet ski with a Philippine flag in hand to assert the country's claim over the West Philippine Sea. The president admitted that his campaign promise was "just talk."
READ: Philippines loses bid to void Chinese names for Benham Rise features
The Philippine Rise, on the other hand, is situated on the eastern side of the country, serving as a gateway to the Pacific Ocean.
The president will be sending off an all Filipino 50-man survey team to the seismically active undersea and volcanic ridge to officially launch the team's research.
Duterte earlier formed the team of Filipino experts to assess the country's sovereignty over the region.
In 2012, the United Nations Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf awarded Benham Rise to the Philippine as an extension of its continental shelf, granting Manila "sovereign rights" over the region.
No country, including China, is disputing the Philippines' sovereign rights over the area despite its marine scientific research over the undersea region earlier this year.
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