Territorial disputes seem to be what’s keeping the Aquino administration very busy these days. On one front, we have the disputed Spratly Islands, where we lay claim to several islands in the group located in West Philippine Sea or the South China Sea, depending on your perspective, and nationality. No doubt this would be the more dicey among the three which I will list later on, as we are dealing with not just one country, but several, including China, which has shown its aggressiveness in laying claim to the WHOLE area! Diplomatic efforts are only good on the tables that they are made, but not on the high seas! A solution would be to elevate the dispute to the United Nations and have a third party decide, but China won’t budge for obvious reasons. That’s just the first front.
Another front would be Mindanao, where the MILF is now pushing for a Moro “substate”, similar to what Hong Kong is to China, at least that’s what they say. After the historic meeting between President Aquino and MILF Chairman Murad Ebrahim, the MILF leadership has stated that nothing short of a Moro substate would bring peace to the region, and hopefully prosperity. We are still waiting for the government’s counteroffer, which can only mean that a substate may not be on the table. Talks begin next week in Malaysia, and we can only guess what the government has to offer to the MILF. One thing is for certain, it is not as simple as it seems because we are only talking to one armed group, who does not have total control of the island! There are many armed groups who may want to have a say in the whole matter, such as the MNLF and even the ARMM that supposedly already governs the region. Definitely not a cake walk for PNoy’s cabinet!
But this last front may actually be one. There is this large piece of volcanic mass submerged in the Philippine Sea, just off the coastlines of Aurora and Isabela, thirteen million hectares in size, that the Philippines can claim for its own. It is bigger than the island of Luzon, just to give you a comparison. In 2009, the Philippine government applied for ownership of the area, known as Benham Rise, to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS). At least with this area, no one else is claiming ownership. In fact, as early as next year, a decision on our claim may already be reached, favorably, we hope! The belief is that large deposits of natural gas and even oil may be lying in wait beneath the waters. If true, then a large percentage of the country’s energy needs will be provided, making us self-sufficient. But there may be a little problem.
The area is seismically active. Ergo, earthquake city! It is actually part of a fault line and an extinct volcano. Although many say that a volcano can no longer be classified as extinct because of the Mt. Pinatubo eruption. It may be a little difficult to tap whatever resources the area has to offer, and I’m sure we will need outside help to do just that. Which makes time of the greatest essence.
All of this – the research, the surveys, the testing and the actual tapping – of whatever richness the area can yield, must be done under this administration. This administration is trusted, no question there. So whatever is found on Benham Rise, will definitely go to the people. I cannot imagine any other administration handling a find such as this one. It is also certain that this administration may not see the end results of this venture, so the next one should just be as trusted to finish the job for the PURE benefit of the people. Otherwise, efforts will only go to those who are naturally and inherently greedy!