House leaders are in favor of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ move of building an airstrip, among other infrastructure projects, in the Pag-asa Island, which is a part of the Kalayaan (Spratly) Islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and being claimed by China.

Representatives Al Francis Bichara of Albay province, Romero Quimbo of Marikina City and Carol Jayne Lopez of You Against Corruption, expressed such sentiments on Wednesday in light of the announcement of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez that the establishment of the airstrip is an exercise of territorial sovereignty, jurisdiction and effective administration in accordance with international law.

Bichara cited the fact that Pag-asa has been inhabited by Filipinos since 1978 should prompt other nations to respect the sovereignty of the Philippines over the said territory in the Kalayaan Islands.

Kalayaan, which sits atop oil and mineral deposits, are located within the Philippines’ 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone per the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas. Even so, the Kalayaan are being claimed by China as its territory based on historical claims.

“It is [Pag-asa] an occupied Philippine territory. Any improvement there should be respected by other nations and must be viewed as a mere exercise of the Philippine sovereignty. I support this move,” Bichara told reporters.

“I agree with the DFA’s position to assert our ownership over these islands. The right to explore and exploit a territory is inalienable and inherent to ownership,” Quimbo, vice chairman of the House Committee on Justice, added in a separate talk.