Congress is set to conduct an investigation into the reported intrusions of Chinese vessels in Benham Rise, which has been declared part of the Philippines’ continental shelf by the United Nations in 2012. Beijing has clarified that it fully respects the Philippines’ rights over the continental shelf, days after insisting Manila cannot claim Benham as its own territory despite a United Nations ruling on sovereign rights. At the Senate, an inquiry was prompted by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV’s Senate Resolution 330, which stated that China’s alleged surveying of Benham Rise threatens the country’s territorial integrity and could lead to a “larger geopolitical dilemma.”

Diaz, J., Romero P.,Laude, J., Ramirez, R., Zoleta, M., & Viray, P. L. (2017, March 16). Congress sets probe on Benham incursion. The Philippine Star, p. 2.