President Rodrigo Duterte has received brickbats from various quarters for being unruffled at the report of his defense secretary, Delfin Lorenzana, that Chinese survey ships were spotted last year at Benham Rise, an undersea area off the coast of Aurora that is part of the Philippines’ maritime boundaries. The criticisms hint at a lack of basic understanding of the subject matter. Under UNCLOS, the Philippines has the automatic right to a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone beyond its territorial sea, a fact upheld by the July 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. To be able to exercise sovereign rights over Benham Rise, however, the Philippines had to seek approval from the UN to declare the area part of its extended continental shelf, which can reach up to 350 nautical miles from the landmass.

Benham rise and sovereign rights. (2017, March 16). The Manila Times, p. A4.