Apparently, President Duterte likes to use his strategic skills, for which he acquired a reputation during his long tenure as mayor of Davao City, to keep his own government off balance. Take the prolonged presence of Chinese vessels over Benham Rise, the underwater landmass northeast of Luzon that the United Nations has already declared part of the Philippines’ continental shelf. His own Department of Foreign Affairs sent a note to the Chinese embassy last Friday seeking an explanation for the presence of the Chinese vessels: “The Philippines has expressed concern about the reported presence of Chinese ships in Benham Rise, which has been recognized by the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf as Philippine waters.”

Slow boat from China. (2017, March 17). Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A12.