It has been pointed out since early on that there may be large deposits of oil and natural gas under the Benham Rise, and the waters over the Benham Rise also have abundant marine living resources. The Benham Rise constitutes the greater part of the extended continental shelf of the Philippines. Since 2015, it had been reported that there were cases in which Chinese marine research ships were often observed in the same water area. In response to this statement, a spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the same day, when asked by a news reporter about the affair mentioned above, that the said vessel was just navigating in the water area and that it was not engaged in any other operations. On March 10, in relation to this case, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs expressed concern about the existence of Chinese research ships often observed over the Benham Rise and issued a statement requesting that the Chinese government should explain about the circumstances under which such ships were sent to the water area.
It is not clear whether the ship was conducting marine scientific research.
In March of 2017, a Chinese marine research ship was spotted that stayed in the water area over the Benham Rise off the eastern part of Luzon Island on the extended continental shelf of the Philippines.
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