Manila, Feb. 13 -- The scope of the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and the Philippines' sovereignty over features in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) are "incontrovertible," grounded in international law, and not dependent on whether they fall within the country's 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.

Newly appointed DFA spokesperson for maritime affairs Rogelio Villanueva Jr. made the clarification at a press briefing, seeking to dispel misconceptions about Philippine territory in the WPS.

Citing the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, or Republic Act No. 12064, Villanueva said the country's western maritime zones -including the Luzon Sea, the territorial seas of Bajo de Masinloc, an...