President Marcos on Wednesday slammed the presence of Chinese research vessels within Benham Rise, saying it was a “clear intrusion of the country’s territory.”
Speaking from the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne, Mr. Marcos also expressed concern that the Chinese vessels may be doing something other than research, noting their presence in the area was ”absolutely unnecessary.”
He said it was an “escalation” of tensions between Manila and Beijing over the latter’s intrusions as well in the West Philippine Sea.
Benham Rise, officially known as Philippine Rise, is on the northeastern side of Luzon. It is not a disputed area and has been declared by the United Nations as well within the 200-nautical mile EEZ and continental shelf of the Philippines.
“Once again, this is a clear intrusion into our Philippine maritime territory and it is, as usual, of great concern. And I see this as absolutely unnecessary because if it is truly a research vessel then we could have come to a very simple agreement that the research vessel will ply the waters and do the research that they need to do,” Mr. Marcos said in a video message.
”There is a suspicion that they are not only research vessels so, again, this is a bit of an escalation of the tension that is present in the West Philippines Sea,” he added.
US maritime security analyst Ray Powell last week said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that at least two Chinese vessels were seen loitering around Benham Rise, which the Philippine government declared as a “protected food supply exclusive zone” in 2017.
The Philippine Coast Guard said BRP Gabriela Silang will patrol the waters to conduct maritime domain awareness, intensify its presence in the northern portion of Luzon Island and monitor local fishermen.
Aside from the PCG vessel, air assets of the Coast Guard AviationForce are on standby for possible augmentation, specifically in performing aerial surveillance.
The Philippine Navy said the two Chinese vessels have so far departed the country’s EEZ.
As this developed, China objected the passage in the Philippine Senate of the Maritime Zones Act which will set archipelagic boundaries in compliance with UNCLOS and the 2016 The Hague arbitral ruling.
Beijing said the measure will only advance the enforcement of what it claimed as illegal arbitral award on the South China Sea.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning lamented the Philippines was attempting “to put a legal veneer on its illegal claims and actions in the South China Sea” under the pretext ofUNCLOS.
According to Mao, such a measure “goes against the provisions of international law, including the UN Charter and UNCLOS, and againstthe spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.”
However, she did not cite which particular provision of the UNCLOS will be violated by the Philippines.
“This completely horrendous act will inevitably make the situation in the South China Sea more complex,” Mao said. With AFP
