And now, there’s Benham Rise
The dispute between the Philippines and China is far from over, with China doggedly ignoring the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal ruling that the Philippines has the exclusive sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea (in the South China Sea) and that China’s “nine-dash line” is invalid. And now comes the hot news about the Benham Rise.
But not to worry. So far China, nor any other country, has challenged the Philippines’ claim of Benham Rise as its own.
Benham Rise, otherwise known as the Benham Plateau, is a 13-million hectare seismically active underwater region and extinct volcanic ridge located approximately 250 kilometers east of the northern coastline of Dinapigue, Isabela, and off the coast of Aurora province.
The Philippines filed its claim for Benham Rise in 2008 and the UN has officially approved the claim in April 2012. Unlike Scarborough Shoal and other portions of the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea, no other country has expressed claims over the area that is almost a quarter bigger than the 13-million hectare Luzon island.
The UN’s approval and recognition of the Philippine claim was in strict compliance with the requirements of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The convention sent a letter to the Philippines informing it that Benham Rise is now part of the Philippine continental shelf and territory. The Philippines can thus benefit from the massive mineral and gas deposits in the region, which would enable the country to achieve complete energy sufficiency.
The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) of the United Nations adopted in full the Philippines’ Submission for an extended continental shelf on April 12, 2012, which includes part of the seabed that extends beyond 200 nautical miles from the country’s baselines covering a seabed area of 52,340 square miles.
According to UP professor Jay Batongbacal who took part in the technical team that prepared and defended the Philippines’ claim over Benham Rise, the underground plateau keeps a large amount of heavy metals like manganese, whose accumulation into manganese nodules can help in the production of steel and other materials.
The area is also potentially a rich source of natural gas. So far, Batungbacal said, the Benham Rise, which is 2,000 to 5,000 meters deep, has not really been explored.
Former DENR Secretary Ramon Paje said, “We’ve been saying this in the past. This country can provide for its own energy” and possibly export natural gas.
Understandably happy about the approval of the Philippine claim in 2013, former Congressman, now Senator, Sonny Angara of Aurora Province said Benham Rise could make Aurora rise, too. The province has long been listed as one of the country’s poorest provinces.
”Weather weather lang yan, suwerte suwerte,” he said. He then filed a bill in Congress for the immediate approval of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) budget to hasten the move to study opportunities for Benham Rise, which is home to deep-water fish such as blue fin tuna. An in-depth study would allow the government to map out a comprehensive plan to effectively utilize the Benham Rise.
The landform is named after Admiral Andrew Ellicot Kennedy Benham (1832-1905) by American surveyors who were the probable discoverers of Benham Rise. He was a US navy officer who served with both the South Atlantic and West Gulf Blockading Squadrons during the American Civil War.
But what if China also builds structures on Benham Rise? Earth-shaking question, that.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said security officials are worried because a Chinese survey ship was spotted criss-crossing the underwater plateau for three months last year. Passing through, from our view, means a vessel goes through the area tuloy-tuloy, and not take its sweet time (three months!) leisurely cruising in the sea.
According to Rappler’s Carmela Fonbuena, China responded to Lorenzana’s concern, by saying “the Philippines cannot claim Benham Rise to be its own territory.” (See what I mean?) China said it was “exercising navigation freedoms and the right to innocent passage only, without conducting any other activities or operations.” (That’s what you say, guys.)
China is right, in the sense that its vessels as well as those of other countries can pass through Benham Rise based on freedom of navigation. The important thing is that the Philippines is the only country that may develop resources in the area.
In a wise move, President Duterte, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer reporters on March 15, has ordered the Philippine Navy to put up “structures” to assert the country’s sovereignty over the underwater landmass.
Additionally, Manila has lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing after the Chinese vessel was tracked moving back and forth over the plateau. This was denied by China’s foreign ministry.
Duterte, however, according to PDI, said there had been no Chinese incursion into the Philippine territory because the two countries had a previous agreement. (This statement about a “previous agreement” has baffled observers.) He said . “We were advised of it way ahead. But maybe we have every right also to ask, ‘what’s up? Why are you here? It’s like that we do not want to pick a fight. Things are getting great our way, so why spoil it? He said.
As for the military, PDI wrote that Duterte should assert Philippine ownership in a friendly way. “My orders to my military? You go there and tell them straight that, this is ours but I say it in friendship.”
Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the territory belongs to the Philippines. “First and foremost, Benham Rise belongs to the Filipino people. The Philippine government is duty-bound to defend and protect the sovereign and territorial right over this region.” No other country could build anything on the plateau, he said.
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Responding to the possible Chinese incursion into Benham Rise,
Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto called on the executive department to immediately craft a comprehensive strategy aimed at protecting Benham Rise.
“No ifs or buts. The government must have a ‘Benham Rise Protection Strategy’. A comprehensive strategy – military, diplomatic, economic – in holding on to and developing Benham Rise,” Recto said.
“We cannot be caught unaware. There should be no Pearl Harbor moment that will surprise us that other countries have installed themselves on what by law is part of our territory,” he added.
Recto told reporters that the government must also focus its attention not only on Benham Rise, but other areas on the Pacific side of the country which have lagged economically.
“The Pacific side has always been the unattended portion of our archipelago. Maraming lugar diyan na underdeveloped. It is time for us to pivot,” he stressed.
Recto said the Senate, for its part, should consider expediting a bill filed by Sen. Sonny Angara providing for the creation of a Benham Rise Development Authority – the lead agency that will be mandated to conduct scientific research and exploration in the plateau.
Once equipped with such information, the BRDA shall take the lead in formulating and implementing a development roadmap for Benham Rise, ensuring that it is aligned with the Philippine Development Plan, Recto said.
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