PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has received brickbats from various quarters for being unruffled at the report of his defense secretary, Delfin Lorenzana, that Chinese survey ships were spotted last year at Benham Rise, an undersea area off the coast of Aurora that is part of the Philippines’ maritime boundaries. The criticisms hint at a lack of basic understanding of the subject matter.

Benham Rise, a 13-million-hectare region said to be rich in mineral deposits, is not part of the Philippines’ national territorial waters that extend 12 nautical miles from the country’s landmass or baselines. What and where is Benham Rise?

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