While Benham Rise is not part of Philippine national territory, “we have sovereign rights over it because we have exclusive right to explore and exploit the oil, gas and other mineral resources in the area,” Supreme Court Senior Justice Antonio T. Carpio said yesterday. Carpio was part of the Philippine delegation that argued before the United Nations’ Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in 2015 and has been tapped by President Duterte as consultant in the territorial issues with China. In a statement, Carpio said: “Benham rise is not part of Philippine national territory because we do not have sovereignty over Benham Rise. However, we have sovereign rights (less than sovereignty) over Benham Rise because we have exclusive right to explore and exploit the oil, gas and other mineral resources in Benham Rise which has been confirmed by the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf as part of the Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) of the Philippines.

Panaligan, R. G., Kabiling, G. D., Torregoza, H. L., & Wakefield, F. T. (2017, March 15). PH has sovereign rights over Benham Rise: Justice Carpio. Manila Bulletin, p. 4.