China has no right to name undersea features in the Philippine Rise or Benham Rise, according to a senior magistrate of the Supreme Court. Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said only the Philippines has the right to name such features since the area has already been declared part of the country’s territory. “We have sovereign rights over Benham Rise because we have exclusive right to explore and exploit the oil, gas and other mineral resources in that area, which has been confirmed by the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (UNCLCS) as part of the extended continental shelf (ECS) of the Philippines,” the magistrate explained in a statement released over the weekend.

Punay, E., & Porcalla, D. (2018, February 19). 'China can't name Phl Rise undersea features'. The Philippine Star, p. 6.