The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Office of the Executive Secretary have announced plans of coming up with a new name for Benham Rise, as suggested by President Rodrigo Duterte.
The DFA initially said that the first suggestion was to rename it to “Philippine Rise,” saying that it will strengthen the country’s rights over the resource-rich undersea plateau.
This after Chinese survey ships sailed in the Benham Rise area, putting a spotlight on President Duterte’s dealings with Beijing.
“A motion has been made subject to the conduct of the requisite legal and logistical study to effect the change,” Executive Secretary Ernesto Abella was quoted as saying.
The United Nations ruled in 2012 that Benham Rise, off the Philippines’ Pacific coast, was within the country’s extended continental shelf.
Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino, renamed the South China Sea to West Philippine Sea to assert Manila’s claim to resource-rich islands, reefs and outcrops that are also claimed by China.
Unlike in the South China Sea, Beijing has not contested Manila’s claim to Benham Rise.
(with reports from Philippine News Agency)
