A veteran lawmaker slammed China for rejecting the House resolution condemning Beijing’s “illegal” activities in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez said China has no right to reject House Resolution No. 1494, which the House has adopted, on illegal activities in West Philippine Sea.

“It is our prerogative to express our collective sense on continued Chinese intrusion and encroachment on our maritime waters, and their persistent harassment and bullying of our navy, coast guard and fishermen. No country can deny us that,” he said.

Rodriguez was commenting on a Chinese foreign ministry statement criticizing Resolution No. 1494.

The resolution condemns China’s “illegal actions” in the WPS and urges the government “to assert and protect the Philippines’ sovereign rights over its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.”

Rodriguez said based on the arbitral court ruling, China’s expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea, including the WPS, have no legal basis.

“They cannot insist on owning areas that are inside our 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), like Ayungin Shoal and Recto Bank in Palawan, and Scarborough or Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc off Zambales and Pangasinan, which China seized in 2012,” he said.

He said Beijing is standing firm “on this baseless narrative on the strength of might and not of reason.”

The chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments added that China should not call for “negotiations and consultations” to resolve maritime disputes “because we already tried those modes during the previous administration but they failed.”

“We should not negotiate with a frenemy that is frequently intruding in our backyard, and repeatedly harassing and bullying us,” the Mindanao lawmaker stressed.

In Resolution No. 1494, the House said: “In clear violation of the Arbitral Award, China has built artificial islands in various parts of the West Philippine Sea fortified with airstrips, military installations, hardware, and equipment and has militarized at least three of those artificial islands, arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment and fighter jets.”

It noted that the country, “being a firm believer and advocate of the Rule of Law, and despite the continued harassment of China, has resorted to diplomatic tools to address Chinese aggression, including the filing of over 400 diplomatic protests against the latter.”

“Such illegal activities include (a) harassment, shadowing, blocking, dangerous maneuvers, and radio challenges; (b) unilateral imposition of a fishing moratorium; (c) unauthorized conduct of Marine Scientific Research activities; (d) incessant and unlawful restriction of Filipino fishermen from conducting legitimate fishing activities in Bajo de Masinloc; and (e) harassment of Philippine boats in Ayungin Shoal,” the resolution stated.