China's continued reclamation in the South China Sea has eroded trust among claimants and could raise regional tensions, Southeast Asian foreign ministers said Tuesday. Meanwhile, Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte has ordered that any scientific exploration in Benham Rise, northeast of the Philippines, will now be exclusive to Filipino scientists, his spokesperson Herminio Harry L. Roque, Jr. said in a press briefing on Tuesday. Mr. Duterte’s latest position on Benham Rise comes in the wake of an exclusive report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on China’s extensive fortification in the Spratly and Paracel Islands west of the Philippines. These developments were earlier cited by a report last December by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, dating the fortifications to 2017, Mr. Duterte’s second year in office.

Aguinaldo, C. A., & Balinbin, A. L. (2018, February 7). ASEAN airs concern on China buildup; PHL bans foreign research on Benham Rise. BusinessWorld, p. S1/9.