House Speaker Martin Romualdez (Speaker’s office)

House Speaker Martin Romualdez said that the reported endangerment by two Chinese fighter jets of a Philippine Air Force (PAF) plane conducting routine patrol over Bajo de Masinloc "does not speak well of a country trying to be a world power". 

In a statement Monday afternoon, Aug. 12, Romualdez underscored that Bajo de Masinloc was located within the West Philippine Sea (WPS). 

“This latest aggressive action of China does not promote peace and stability in the West Philippine Sea and in the region. It does not speak well of a country trying to be a world power and leader,” the Speaker said. 

He said disputes between two countries would not be resolved amicably if one, however big it is, resorts to "aggression, harassment and bullying". 

Romualdez, the leader of the 300-plus strong House of Representatives, echoed President Marcos' statement that the Philippines stands by its Air Force personnel who conducted the maritime patrol over Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal last Thursday. 

“We support our personnel and we thank them for their courage, bravery and patriotism for protecting our national territory and sovereignty,” Romualdez, Leyte's 1st district representative, said. 

According to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the two Chinese fighters jets conducted dangerous maneuvers and dropped flares in the path of the PAF plane, endangering the aircraft and its crew. The PAF plane returned safety to Clark Air Base in Pampanga. 

Following the incident, China said the Philippines should stop its “infringement", and claimed that it had “indisputable sovereignty” over Bajo de Masinloc and its adjacent waters. 

Romualdez says Beijing’s assertion “has no legal basis".

“They should not insist on this baseless claim. It is against the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which both the Philippines and China are signatories,” he said. 

He said the Philippines is entitled to a 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) under UNCLOS. 

“Bajo de Masinloc is 120 nautical miles from Luzon and is clearly within our EEZ, while it is 594 nautical miles from China’s Hainan Island,” he added.