Congress sets probe on Benham incursion

MANILA, Philippines -  Congress is set to conduct an investigation into the reported intrusions of Chinese vessels in Benham Rise, which has been declared part of the Philippines’ continental shelf by the United Nations in 2012.

Beijing has clarified that it fully respects the Philippines’ rights over the continental shelf, days after insisting Manila cannot claim Benham as its own territory despite a United Nations ruling on sovereign rights.

At the Senate, an inquiry was prompted by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV’s Senate Resolution 330, which stated that China’s alleged surveying of Benham Rise threatens the country’s territorial integrity and could lead to a “larger geopolitical dilemma.”

At the House of Representatives, Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon’s resolution became the basis of the upcoming probe, but it would focus on government plans for the area.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana disclosed last week several Chinese vessels had been plying the 13-million hectare undersea region and biodiversity hotspot located east of Luzon, with one ship crisscrossing the area for about three months in an apparent surveying mission.

The defense chief said he suspected that China was looking for areas where submarines could pass.

“We will invite Secretary Lorenzana to explain his recent statements. We will ask him what information he received and where he got it,” Biazon said in a television interview.

Lorenzana said he received the information from the country’s allies, though he did not name a specific source.

He added that he has relayed the information to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), which has asked China for clarification.

Reacting to Lorenzana’s revelation, the Chinese foreign ministry said their ship was on “innocent passage.”        

A few days later, President Duterte claimed that he had allowed the vessel to pass through Benham Rise, a statement that surprised his defense chief. Duterte said he did not want to fight over Benham Rise to get economic aid from China.

Biazon said he was inclined to believe Lorenzana’s revelation that the Chinese craft was on a survey mission.

“That cannot be innocent passage, as the Chinese claim. Innocent passage is basically sailing from point A to point B. Their vessel stayed in one area for days and was in Benham Rise for three months. I cannot believe their claim,” he said.

“China has been saying one thing and doing another. Proof of this is what they did in the disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea. They have occupied three reefs, which are part of our 200-mile exclusive economic zone and built military structures on them,” he said.

No challenge  from Beijing

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said last Tuesday Beijing would honor the Philippines’ rights over Benham Rise following reports about Chinese survey ships cruising near the region.

“I wish to reiterate that China fully respects the Philippines’ rights over the continental shelf in the Benham Rise and there is no such thing of China challenging those rights,” Hua said in a press briefing in Beijing.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry stressed that China and the Philippines had a “friendly exchange of views” on the matter.

Hua said that under international law, China can enjoy freedom of navigation in the region.

“But the basic principle of international law says that the (exclusive economic zone) and the continental shelf do not equate with territories, and a littoral state’s exercise of rights over the continental shelf should not hamper such rights as freedom of navigation enjoyed by other countries under international law,” Hua said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry noted that the bilateral relationship between the Philippines and China is developing with “sound momentum and practical cooperation.”

“From China’s point of view, we attach great importance to the good neighborly and friendly partnership with the Philippines, and stand ready to work with the Philippines to implement the two Presidents’ consensus of ‘upholding good neighborly and friendly cooperation, appropriately handling differences and pursuing common development,’ bear in mind the larger picture of bilateral relations, continue to enhance mutual understanding and mutual trust, deepen friendly cooperation and strive for the continued, sound and steady development of bilateral relations,” Hua said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang earlier said that the Philippines cannot claim Benham Rise as its own territory despite the award of sovereignty by the UN.      

Trillanes and Biazon lamented the officials’ conflicting statements with regard to Benham Rise.

Biazon said Duterte made a different statement that embarrassed his defense secretary and the DFA. “We should be speaking with one voice when dealing with other nations like China,” he said.

Trillanes said Lorenzana deemed the Chinese presence in Benham Rise as alarming and that increased military presence is necessary.

Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano said Duterte could be impeached if he failed to protect the area from Chinese incursions.

No treason

But Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II defended Duterte, saying the President did not commit treason as his critics alleged.

In a forum, Aguirre said Duterte’s remarks on Benham Rise should not be taken seriously because it was an informal talk with the Chinese during his recent visit to Beijing.

“(Maybe he said) if you (Chinese) want, you can go Benham Rise. Because at that time,  he was very much enraged at America,” Aguirre said, referring to the time Duterte had been lambasting the US for criticizing his war on drugs.

But Aguirre stood firm that Benham Rise is a property of the Philippines.

In a recent press conference in Malacañang, Duterte admitted that he had an agreement with the Chinese government and “even invited them to shores of the Philippines for a visit.”

“We previously agreed that they can, research ship naman ’yung ano…we do not want to pick a fight,” Duterte said.

Aguirre said Duterte was just being “diplomatic” to a neighboring country.

Secure Benham Rise

Military strategic planners are batting for the construction of a Pacific coastal highway in the eastern seaboard of Luzon to secure the area.

Involved in mapping out the country’s territorial defense, the group has been pushing for the construction of the coastal highway or a road network that would start from the Pacific coast of Sta. Ana, Cagayan to Aurora province, cutting through the coastal mountains of Isabela.

“If we have the coastal highway on that side of Luzon, the (Armed Forces of the Philippines), aside from establishing land-based security installations facing Pacific Ocean, will also have easy access to Benham Rise,” one of the senior military officers said.

The proposal got a needed push during the term of then AFP chief Gregorio Catapang but this was sidestepped by internal threats that the military had to deal with.

With Catapang then at the helm of the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom), the military worked out a long-range security plan, including construction of a coastal highway facing the Pacific Ocean, considering the strategic importance of Benham Rise to the country’s territorial and economic interests.

Nolcom has established an outpost in the northernmost islet of Mavulis in Itbayat, Batanes in support of this military strategic security plan for Benham Rise.

A security official said it would be easier to send Navy ships and Air Force assets to the area if a road network and other military facilities would be built in strategic places nearby.

– With Jaime Laude, Robertzon Ramirez, Michelle Zoleta, Patricia Lourdes Viray/philstar.com