The Philippines cannot claim ownership over the Benham Rise according to Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson.
BENHAM RISE – Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said that the Philippines cannot take the Benham Rise as its ‘own territory’.
Based on a recent news report in Inquirer, Philippines’ Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has expressed that a structure would be possibly built in Benham Rise to mark the country’s possession of the area.
However, according to the news report, the spokesperson of China’s foreign ministry said during a media conference that PH can’t take the Benham Rise as its ‘own territory’.
“First, in 2012, the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf approved the submission made by the Philippines in 2009 in respect of the limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles in the Benham Rise region,” Geng Shuang said based on the report.
He added that it allowed the country to perform exploration and as well as develop the natural resources in the said area. However, Shuang emphasized that it does not necessarily mean that the Philippines can take ownership over the said area.
Moreover, based on the report, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson emphasized the international law which includes the UNCLOS.
“According to international law… A coastal state’s rights over the continental shelf do not affect the legal status of the superjacent waters or of the air space above those waters, nor do they affect foreign ships’ navigation freedom in the coastal state’s EEZ and on the high seas,” Geng Shuang said according to the report.
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman raised the issue that the Chinese vessels for marine research sailed through part of Luzon. He tagged it as “innocent passage”.
Geng Shuang expressed that the China and the Philippines have settled the differences in a proper way. Based on the report, he emphasized the hope that some people of the Philippines will keep from “playing up the false information”.
Based on the report, Benham Rise is rich in natural gas deposits and as well as minerals.
The relationship of PH and China has been challenged last year due to the territorial dispute over the West Philippine Sea based on a previous news report. Nevertheless, the visit of Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte to China has somehow warmed up the ties between the two countries.
The Philippine President brought home lots of investment projects for the country and days after the Filipinos were permitted to fish again in the disputed shoal.
