Claim on Sabah reiterated by the Philippines
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Officials reminded not to refer to the territory as part of Malaysia
Citing a five-year-old order issued by a former president, Philippine officials have been told to not refer to Sabah as part of Malaysia.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs says that order remains in force, a stance that some analysts believe sends a clear signal that the government will not be dropping its long-standing but dormant-for-decades territorial claim on Sabah.
The 2008 Memorandum Circular issued by President Benigno Aquino III’s predecessor says officials must not make statements or imply “any recognition of a foreign state’s sovereignty” over Sabah. Official documents may also not refer to Sabah as being “part of a larger national/federal territory”, an obvious reference to Malaysia.
The media quoted a Foreign Affairs department official as saying the “existing circular has not been amended or changed yet”.
For the first time in nearly half a century, Sabah has become a flashpoint between the two neighbours after some 200 followers of the Sultanate of Sulu headed by Jamalul Kiram III occupied a coastal village there last month to press their territorial claim.
While President Aquino has condemned the incursion, the issue has drawn attention to the Philippines’ territorial claim on Sabah, which is related to the claim of the sultanate dating back to the late 19th century.
Aquino has ordered a fact-finding inquiry by legal experts on the Philippines’ claim to Sabah, which administration officials say has never been dropped.
International law expert Harry Roque says reminding Filipino officials of the circular was a “very clear indication” that the Aquino administration was maintaining the claim.
