China Watch 25, Benham Rise/ Philippine Rise and Chinese exploration

These were some of the news last January 22-24, 2018.

So President Duterte would keep his kow-tow humiliation to China?

Last January 24, these are just two of the many news reports on the subject.

This irked Prof. Jay Batongbacal of UP College of Law and a friend from UP Sapul student org. So last January 24, Jay posted this in his fb wall, it was shared by 8,000+ people.
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FILIPINOS HAVE BEEN EXPLORING THE BENHAM RISE REGION FORYEARS

by Jay Batongbacal

January 24, 2017.

[Fair warning: for the first time, i am about to really rant about something]

I was going to write on this MSR brouhaha again and try to do something that could actually help this government clarify some things they just don't get, but then I am outraged by a huge hollow-block thrown against the entire FIlipino nation.

Pres sPox Roque's claim that Filipinos cannot afford to explore Benham Rise, that "no one can do it", that the Philippines "needs China" to do it, and "only China qualifies" is completely wrong, based on ignorance, a serious disservice to Filipino scientists in particular and the Filipino people in general, and an over-exaggeration of China's potential role in Philippine ocean sciences.

In the first place, FIlipinos have been exploring the Benham Rise Region for years now:

1) From 2004-2008, then again in 2010, the DENR's National Mapping and Resource Information Authority sent BRP Hydrographer Presbitero on multiple bathymetric and hydrographic surveys of the Benham Rise Region, producing a highly detailed 3D digital bathymetric model (resolution of 1 meter for an area covering 30 million hectares) of the entire region compliant with the highest quality standards of the International Hydrographic Organization. That was a Philippine vessel with full Filipino crew (mariners of the Coast and Geodetic Survey Division) funded completely by the Philippine government. That batheymetric model was absolutely necessary for the Philippines to support its claim to the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles with 2D and 3D geomorphological analysis.

2) For the past decade, the DA's Bureau of FIsheries and Aquatic Resources has been annually conducting fisheries research and experimental fishing expeditions in the Benham Rise Region, particularly in areas between the coast of Luzon and Benham Bank, to determine the tuna fishery potential of its waters. This has been undertaken by the M/V DA-BFAR multi-mission research vessel for so long, that BFAR has confidence in promoting and opening the region as the country's new tuna fishing ground.

3) Two oceanographic research cruises have been organized, funded by the DOST, supported by DA-BFAR, and with the participation of the University of the Philippines, De la Salle University, Silliman University, and other academic institutions (apologies as I forget), which gave the Philippines its initial glimpse of Benham Bank, the shallowest portion of Benham Rise. These were done in 2014 and 2016. A third cruise is being planned for this summer 2018 (fingers crossed). All are crewed by Filipino scientists, marine science students, Navy and Coast Guard technical divers, and mariners. Supplementary support/assistance so far was provided by Oceana, a non-government organization advocating marine resources conservation, in the form only of a remotely-operated vehicle unit and technicians to control it, and additional scientists and technical divers to augment the 2nd expedition's personnel. Both previous expeditions were Philippine-funded, the same goes for the planned third cruise. The first people to actually descend and "touch" Benham Bank 50m below the Pacific, were Filipino technical divers. That's our "Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon" historical moment.

4) Since 2016, the UP National Institute for Geological Sciences and UP Marine Science Institute have been collaborating with counterpart institutions from Korea and Japan, namely the Korea Institute for Ocean Science and Technology, and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, to begin initial exploration of the seabed in Benham Rise itself under separate memoranda of agreements. As I understand it, among other things, the Philippines intends to get seabed core samples through this arrangement, which push forward the resource assessment and exploration efforts for the Rise.

5) Geologists of the UP NIGS have acquired and reviewed available public domain data from multiple scientific research cruises by multiple nations that have passed through the Benham Rise Region, and produced academic papers and analysis of their own, which were used as evidence to support the claim to Benham Rise. The detailed tectonic history, geological characteristics, and underwater topography have been determined and analyzed by these Filipino scientists, and their findings tested and and papers validated by foreign scientific advisors as well as the scientific community through the continental shelf claim process and the academic press.

6) Marine biologists of UP MSI, UP SESAM, and other schools have been analyzing the many samples and observations that they gathered from the two research cruises, and making some interesting findings and potential discoveries on their own. These are Filipino researchers, earning salaries and wages from Philippine sources, and working in accordance with stringent scientific standards and procedures on par with anyone else in the world.