Philippines to ‘downgrade’ Sabah claim to fight China

Joe Fernandez

The question that arises is whether it can “downgrade” something that it never had in the first place.

KOTA KINABALU: The Philippines, in a desperate note which literally asks Malaysia to risk its growing ties with China, has offered out of the blue to “downgrade” its “claim” to Sabah if Putrajaya supports its (Manila’s) case against China, on its maritime borders, at the United Nations Arbitral Court.

It’s not entirely clear what this “downgrading” means”. The question that arises is whether it can “downgrade” something that it never had in the first place. Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, in an immediate response, said Putrajaya does not recognise any claim by the Philippines to Sabah. “What claim? We don’t recognise any claim, (so) the note is irrelevant.” He was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the two-day Asian Regional Forum (ARF) Workshop on Combating Wildlife Trafficking in Tuaran, Sabah.

Manila’s offer is contained in a note verbale, a copy of which was obtained by VERA Files according to the Philippine Star, handed to the Malaysian Embassy in Manila last week by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). The note follows a week after a visit by Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to Manila.

The note refers to the May 6, 2009 joint submission by Malaysia and Vietnam to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental She’d (CLCS). Malaysia, in the joint submission, claims an extended continental shelf, 350 nautical miles from the baseline, which was clearly projected from Sabah.

The Philippines, which protested the joint submission on Aug 4, 2009 on the grounds that Sabah belongs to it, is now willing to “review” its protest. China protested the submission too and this is likely to stand even if Manila withdrew its objections.

However, Manila’s review would depend on Malaysia’s support for its case against China at the UN. The case is contained in two “requests” i.e. Malaysia to confirm that its extended continental shelf extends from the peninsula; and that it will not claim any continental shelf beyond 12 nautical miles, as provided for under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), from the maritime features in the Spratly Islands it claims.

The Philippines claims ownership of Sabah, “which is at present occupied by Malaysia”, based on the “title” of the Sultanate of Sulu (defunct) which purportedly ceded proprietary rights over the 76,115-square-kilometer land to the Philippines in 1962.

The Sultanate of Sulu in Borneo, but only along the eastern seaboard of Sabah was not territorial, but claimed the “right” to collect toll along the waterways initially along the east coast and later in Northern Sabah which it claimed was handed to it by the Brunei Sultanate. Brunei has denied handing the right to collect toll along the waterways in Northern Sabah to Sulu.

It’s not entirely clear whether Manila claims the whole of Sabah, and if so, on what basis.

Activists claim that Malaysia in Borneo is an unfinished chapter in the history of the British Empire in the region and are calling for decolonisation of Sabah and Sarawak since Putrajaya has been in non-compliance on the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

Putrajaya’s approach to China’s claims in the South China Sea has been an expressed willingness to jointly engage in oil and gas exploration works.


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