Last Sunday, former Solicitor General Florin T. Hilbay tweeted, “12 July 2016 was an interesting day. I, with Justices Carpio & Jardeleza, went to Malacanang to explain to the President the decision in Phils. v. China. I received the decision by email from the tribunal. The President that we briefed was Rodrigo Duterte and his full cabinet.”
China builds a monument on Kagitingan Reef that the Philippines claims as part of its territory in South China Sea and President Duterte announces he will sail to Benham Rise, an underwater plateau east of Luzon that has been declared part of the country’s extended continental shelf, to show the world that he is willing to die for a land mass that is not even part of Philippine territory.
10 years, 10 stories.
Infighting in the Arroyo government as it was scrambling to beat the May 13, 2009 deadline of the United National Commission on the Law of the Sea for the filing of the country’s claim for an extended continental shelf.
10 years, 10 stories.
A day after President Duterte talked about” joint exploration” and “co-ownership” with the Chinese last Feb. 28 in Marawi City, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque was with Karen Davila in ANC’s Headstart.
Demanding transparency from the government, experts have warned of China’s possible “hidden agenda” after it was granted permission to conduct marine scientific research in the Benham Rise renamed Philippine Rise.
The decision of the Duterte government to allow Chinese scientists to do research in Benham Rise, renamed Philippine Rise, a 13-million-hectare undersea region off the provinces of Isabela and Aurora has generated heated discussions layered with patriotism, nationalism, ignorance, sinophobia – all combined.
The latest issue on Philippine Rise, formerly known as Benham Rise, focused on Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio’s statement that China should not be allowed to conduct marine scientific research in Philippine Rise which the United Nations Commission on the Law of the Sea has recognized as part of the Philippine extended continental shelf (350 nautical miles from the shore).
Ambassador to China Santiago “Chito” Sta. Romana does not see Chinese leader Xi Jinping ordering the withdrawal of Chinese Coast Guard ships from Scarborough shoal and returning to the pre-April 8, 2012 situation, when the area was under the control of the Philippines, despite Beijing’s improved relations with the Rodrigo Duterte government.
