THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday said that, despite several requests, the government turned down China’s requests to visit Benham Rise because they refused to take Filipino scientists with them.
“For a number of years, China has been asking for permission to do research on Benham Rise but were denied. I understand that China didn’t fulfill the requirement of having Filipino scientist onboard [research ships],” acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said.
Maria Lourdes Montero, acting executive director and officer in charge of the Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office confirmed in a Senate hearing on Wednesday that the Chinese applied for permission to explore Benham Rise in 2015 and 2016.
“China has made at least two requests to conduct marine scientific research in Benham Rise, both of which were denied,” Montero told the joint hearing by the Senate Committees on Finance and on Economic Affairs.
Benham Rise became a contentious issue after Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana told a security briefing on March 9 that China, aside from having practically seized Scarborough Shoal, has also shown interest in Benham Rise, an underwater plateau in the Pacific Ocean that belongs to the Philippines.
He said a Chinese survey ship was monitored plying the maritime territory for as long as three months last year.
The DFA at the time sent a diplomatic note to China to explain what its ship did at Benham Rise last year.
Manalo, however, said China has recognized the Philippines’s sovereign rights to the offshore region, which lies within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf.
“We were satisfied with their explanation,” Manalo added.
But Manalo said a permission from China or other countries is “required” if they “want to survey or whatever they wish” and “if the Philippine government wishes to grant it”.
“We have the sovereign rights, but we have requirements which I understand China did not fulfill. We require to have a Filipino scientist onboard,” he said.
Under the Unclos, the 1982 maritime treaty signed by more than 100 countries, including China and the Philippines, coastal states were granted exclusive rights to exploit, explore and manage resources in a stretch of waters extending 200 nautical miles from its coast in an area called the EEZ.
Those rights extend further to a country’s continental shelf area beyond the EEZ.
President Duterte, on the other hand, said the Chinese ships that went to Benham Rise were just research vessels and have not intruded on the country’s territorial waters.
Asked about this, Manalo clarified that: “What the President said was, if it’s a friendly visit, you are welcome to visit the Philippines.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry welcomed the remarks of Duterte and stressed that China and the Philippines had a “friendly exchange of views” on the matter.
Benham Rise, named after US geologist Andrew Benham who first discovered it in 1933, spans 13 million hectares and is believed to be rich in marine resources, natural gas, oil, and minerals.
Manalo said the Benham Rise Development Authority, proposed during a Senate hearing on Wednesday, “is a good idea.”
“No one wants to go into conflict. That’s the purpose of the Code of Conduct… we hope to have a framework for a Code of Conduct by May,” he added.