Philippine Navy (PN) ships will now be a common sight in the 13-million hectare Benham Rise which lies off the Aurora and Isabela coast. Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana disclosed this on Friday shortly after the deployment of the BRP Ramon Alcaraz (FF-16) in the area was made public.
The ship and her crew were conducting sovereignty patrols in the wake of reports that Chinese survey ships were spotted in the maritime area last year.
“The Navy will henceforth regularly patrol Benham Rise partly due to past Chinese activities there but more importantly, because it is part of our continental shelf,” he added.
Lorenzana said Philippine presence in Benham Rise is only fitting as the territory was awarded to the country by the United Nations in 2012.
“Our next activity is to have the area surveyed to clearly determine its limits, depths, coral formations, etc,” the DND chief stressed.
Earlier, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said BRP Gregorio Velasquez (AGR-702), the Philippine Navy (PN)’s sole survey and hydrographic ship, can again be deployed for survey missions off the Benham Rise should President Rodrigo Duterte and Lorenzana formalize the order.
http://www.update.ph/2017/03/navys-frigate-patrols-benham-rise/16119
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.