THE Department of National Defense’s (DND) plan to deploy a fixed surveillance radar for “optimal airspace monitoring” over Philippine Rise would help the country “enforce” its exclusive rights over the territory, Buhay Rep. Lito A. Atienza said at the weekend.
“We understand that the Department of National Defense is positioning over Benham one of the three long-range surveillance radar systems that the Philippine Air Force recently acquired from Japan,” Atienza said in a statement on Sunday. “This should help the Philippines enforce its exclusive rights over Benham,” Atienza said.
In August, the DND signed a contract agreement and notice to proceed for the Horizon 2 Air Surveillance Radar System (ASRS) acquisition project of the Philippine Air Force, under a negotiated government-to-government procurement with Japan.
The ASRS sites will cover large areas of the Philippine Rise, Southern Areas of the country, and the Southern portion of the West Philippine Sea, according to a DND statement.
“Operations from these strategically vital locations will enable the Philippine Air Force to provide optimal airspace monitoring, aircraft control, perform its Air Defense mission and enhance the security in Areas of Interest identified by the DND,” it said.
The DND said the ASRS will help them to “detect, identify, and correlate any threats and intrusions within the Philippine exclusive economic zone [EEZ] and deliver radar images to decision-makers and relevant operating units.”
“We must stress that nobody can explore Benham without the express consent of the Philippine government,” Atienza said.
“And only the Philippine government may authorize and regulate offshore drilling in Benham for all purposes,” Atienza added.
Atienza recalled that when he was Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources during the Arroyo administration, he ordered the survey and delineation of the Philippine Rise to support the government’s claim that the 13-million-hectare underwater territory is within the outer limits of the country’s continental shelf.
“As a result of the successful claim, the United Nations in 2012 awarded Benham to the Philippines as an extension of its continental shelf,” he said. “We have to safeguard the rich natural resources of Benham for the enjoyment of future generations of Filipinos,” Atienza added.