Under the Philippine Sea lie a number of basins including the West Philippine Sea Basin , inside of which is located the Central Basin Fault ( CBF ) . The Benham Plateau is located in the CBF and its basement probably is a micro-continent . Several scientific surveys have been made on the feature to study its nature and its impact on tectonic subduction , including one about its effects on the 1990 Luzon earthquake . The Philippines claimed this feature as part of its continental shelf in a claim filed with the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf on April 8 , 2009 , and which was approved under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ( UNCLOS ) in 2012
1990 Luzon earthquake
1990 Luzon earthquake
Benham Rise