Marcos calls Chinese presence in Philippine Rise 'clear intrusion'

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday that the reported presence of Chinese vessels in the Philippine Rise constituted a “clear intrusion” into the country’s territory. 

Marcos called their presence a “great concern” and “unnecessary.”

“If it is truly a research vessel, then we could have come to a very simple agreement that the research vessel will ply the waters and do the research,” the president said. 

“However, there is a suspicion that they are not only research vessels, so again, this is a bit of an escalation of the tension that is present in the West Philippine Sea,” he added. 

Ray Powell, director of Sealight at the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, said last week that two Chinese research vessels were “loitering” northeast of Philippine Rise, formerly known as Benham Rise. 

The Philippine Coast Guard deployed patrol vessel BRP Gabriela Silang for a two-week mission to the Philippine Rise on Monday.

The Philippine Rise is located off the east coast of the country, not in the West Philippine Sea. It is part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and the country’s extended continental shelf.

The 13-million-hectare undersea landmass is said to be rich in biodiversity, fish stocks, and food security.

Fishers’ group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) urged the government to step up efforts to protect and utilize the resource-rich area to bolster the country’s fisheries production.

In 2017, former President Rodrigo Duterte signed an executive order renaming Benham Rise to Philippine Rise to emphasize the country’s sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the area.  — Gaea Katreena Cabico