Disir
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Senator Sonny Angara is urging the government to assert the country’s sovereignty over Benham Rise as he pressed for the immediate passage of a bill that would develop the 13-million hectare undersea landmass in the Pacific Ocean.
“Benham Rise is undisputedly part of Philippine territory. We have the exclusive rights to explore and exploit its natural resources,” Angara said in a statement on Tuesday in the light of a Chinese official’s recent statement that the Philippines could not claim ownership of the region.
The senator pointed out that Benham Rise officially became part of the Philippines in 2012 after the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf ruled that under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), the undersea landmass was contiguous with the country’s continental shelf and hence, fell under its exclusive economic zone.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang, however, was quoted in the media as saying that the UN approval did not mean that the region is part of the Philippines’ territory.
‘The Philippines has exclusive rights to explore Benham Rise’
China listens to the UN, like everyone else, when it's convenient.
“Benham Rise is undisputedly part of Philippine territory. We have the exclusive rights to explore and exploit its natural resources,” Angara said in a statement on Tuesday in the light of a Chinese official’s recent statement that the Philippines could not claim ownership of the region.
The senator pointed out that Benham Rise officially became part of the Philippines in 2012 after the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf ruled that under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), the undersea landmass was contiguous with the country’s continental shelf and hence, fell under its exclusive economic zone.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang, however, was quoted in the media as saying that the UN approval did not mean that the region is part of the Philippines’ territory.
‘The Philippines has exclusive rights to explore Benham Rise’
China listens to the UN, like everyone else, when it's convenient.
