Gregorio Larrazabal stated that the Filipinos does not need China for the exploration of Benham Rise
Former Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal voiced out his point of view regarding the issue of China’s claim over the Benham Rise.
The Chinese government declared previously through its Foreign Minister Wang Yi that the Philippines has no right to claim the said area.
That statement was agreed by presidential spokesman Harry Roque on his recent declaration.
In a previous report, Roque mentioned that what China said was correct because the Philippines has no title over the Benham Rise and what the country only has is the sovereign rights.
He added that included in the sovereign rights is the choice of what country will be allowed to explore in the area.
In line with this, Gregorio Larrazabal stated something about it in his recent Twitter post.
The former Comelec commissioner said that the Filipinos do not need the aid of China in exploring the natural resources that can be found in Benham Rise.
He included on his post a YouTube link of a documentary about the exploration on the said area which was already done by the scientists from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the University of the Philippines (UP) together with Oceana.
Benham Bank 2016 Expedition – Full Documentary (Oceana) https://t.co/QY7sbJ5nxE via @YouTube
FYI – This is the research FILIPINOS and their partners have been doing on Benham Rise which has been going on for years. We don’t need the Chinese to explore Benham Rise..— Gregorio Larrazabal ?? (@GoyYLarrazabal) January 24, 2018
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js The said video was about the expedition which was conducted in 2016 showcasing a “dazzling array of soft and hard corals, fish, algae, and sponges comprised some of the biological diversity documented by marine scientists the week-long expedition to Benham Bank, the shallowest portion of Benham Rise.”
There are several netizens who expressed their various reactions regarding the statement of Gregorio Larrazabal on Twitter.
Twitter user @Chabalava said that maybe Filipinos do not need China but Malacanang does while Twitter user @EllariaGonzales iterated that China must be stopped.
Furthermore, Twitter user @SyLicoNgaAko pointed out the possible hidden agenda that the China is working on while Twitter user @marcboni said that China has all means for the exploration but Filipinos are too busy getting the basic services in the country.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCjYyAcd1ug]