On 17 February 2009, the Philippine Congress passed an Act to Define the Archipelagic Baselines of the Philippines (an Act to Amend Certain Provisions of Republic Act No. 3046, As Amended By Republic Act No. 5446, to Define the Archipelagic Baselines of the Philippines, and For Other Purposes). The Act includes Huangyan Island and some islands and reefs of Nansha Islands as Philippine territory. The Government of the People's Republic of China hereby reiterates that Huangyan Island and Nansha Islands have always been a part of China's territory. The People's Republic of China has indisputable sovereignty over these islands and their adjacent waters. Claims to territory sovereignty over Huangyan Island and Nansha Islands by any other country are all illegal and invalid.