Benham Rise
The government will conduct a survey of the Benham Rise in the Pacific Ocean to determine its potential for resources.
“We will study what we can put there, what we can put there to exploit also the resources,” defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a press conference on Tuesday.
“Ang pagkakaalam ng marami dyan yan yung spawning ng yellow fin tuna, yellow fin tuna ang nag-ispawn dyan at very rich ang area na yan.. Ang Benham Rise it is almost as big as Northern and Central Luzon ang area nyan, millions of hectares. We will continue to study what will be the best way to develop that area for our needs,” he said.
(Many believe that it’s the spawning ground of yellow fin tuna. Benham Rise is almost as big as Northern and Central Luzon in area with millions of hectares.)
Aside from the survey, the government earlier mentioned that it would send patrols and look at the possibility of building structures to signify Philippine ownership.
Lorenzana disclosed last week that a Chinese survey ship was spotted passing back and forth the Benham Rise for as long as three months last year.
In 2012, the United Nations granted the Philippines’ claim over Benham Rise as an extension of the country’s continental shelf.
The 13-million hectare undersea region off the provinces of Isabela and Aurora is not a part of China’s nine-dash-line claim.
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