Timeline

1933 The massive formation of

basalt, a common volcanic rock, that
lies off the coastlines of Aurora and
Isabela provinces, is named after
American surveyor Andrew Benham
during mapping.

1982 The UNCLOS is adopted. The

Philippines is the 11th country to ratify
the Convention meant to establish a
comprehensive set of rules governing
the oceans.
 2001 Benham Rise is proposed as
a possible extended continental shelf
(ECS) area in a workshop organized
by the University of the Philippines
Institute of International Legal
Studies to aid the DFA and the
National Mapping and Resource
Information Authority (Namria) in
implementing the Law of the Sea.
The Namria proceeded to conduct
the required extensive hydrographic
surveys as basis for the claim.
 2007 The Commission on Maritime
and Ocean Affairs creates a Technical
Working Group to prepare the
countrys formal claims.

April 8, 2009 The Philippines files

its claim to the territory before the
UN Commission on the Limits of the
Continental Shelf (CLCS) in New York.
 August 15, 2009 The ECS team,
led by then Philippine ambassador to
the UN Hilario Davide, makes its first
formal presentation to the CLCS en
banc.

January 2011 A CLCS Subcomission

commences the validation of the
claim but points out another method
to draw the border, resulting in a
larger claimed area than what the
Philippines had initially submitted.
 April 12, 2012 The CLCS approves the
claim, confirming the landmass as part of
the Philippines continental shelf and
expanding our territory by 13 million
hectares (130,000 square kilometers).
The recognition of the countrys
jurisdiction over Benham Rise is the first
successful validation of a Philippine claim
in accordance with the 1982 Unclos. It is
also the first major expansion of the
countrys maritime boundaries since the
late 1970s when it declared its exclusive
economic zone (EEZ).
 July 2012 The UP Marine Science
Institute conducts the first
oceanography survey of the Benham
Rise.

2013 The Bureau of Fisheries and

Aquatic Resources (BFAR) starts a
series of annual expeditions to
Benham Rise, mainly to implement
the law of the sea and to acknowledge
that the area is within the countrys
EEZ.
 2014 An exploratory cruise funded by the
Philippine Council for Agriculture and Natural
Resources Research and Development and the
Department of Science and Technology is
conducted. The team covers five stations in
Benham Bank, the shallowest area of Benham
Rise.
May 2016 A second weeklong expedition in
Benham Bank is conducted during which the
team finds a rich biodiversity of impressive
fields of soft and hard corals, fish, algae and
sponges. A marine scientist says the area could
aid in ensuring the countrys food security.
 March 9, 2017- Defense Secretary
Delfin Lorenzana says Chinese survey
ships entered Philippine waters near
Benham Rise for three months last year
and that there are reports indicating
the Chinese were looking for possible
submarine stations.
 March 10, 2017 Chinese foreign
ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang
says the Philippines cannot take Benham
Rise as its own territory, even as he
reiterates that the reported passage of a
Chinese survey ship through the
Philippines territorial waters was
innocent and unintentional.
President Rodrigo Duterte replies that he
will not fight about ownership or
sovereignty at this time because things
are going great for the two countries.
 March 15, 2017 Beijing clarified
that it fully respects the Philippines'
rights over the continental shelf in
Benham Rise following reports about
Chinese survey ships cruising near the
region.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson
Hua Chunying reiterated that China
fully respects the Philippines' rights
over the continental shelf in the
'Benham Rise' and there is no such
thing of China challenging those rights
 April 1, 2017 The Philippine
government is looking into renaming
Benham Rise to "Philippine Rise". The
DFA and Office of the Executive
Secretary have been tasked to look
into the possibility of changing the
name of 'Benham Rise' to Philippine
Rise to emphasize Philippine
sovereign rights and jurisdiction over
the area
 Sources
Philippine Daily Inquirer. (2017, March 19). Timeline:
Events affecting PH claim over Benham Rise. Retrieved
April 26, 2017, from
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/153497/timeline-events-
affecting-ph-claim-benham-rise
Rappler.com. (2017, April 1). PH eyes renaming
Benham Rise to Philippine Rise. Retrieved April 26,
2017, from http://www.rappler.com/nation/165799-ph-
rename-benham-rise
Viray, P. L. (2017, March 15). China: We respect
Philippines' rights over Benham Rise. Retrieved April
26, 2017, from
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/03/15/1681350
/china-we-respect-philippines-rights-over-benham-rise