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Malaysia never recognised Philippine claim on Sabah, says Anifah
By Julia Chan
Anifah said such an arrangement would be moot as Putrajaya recognises no such claim. — Reuters pic
KOTA KINABALU, March 30 — Malaysia has not and does not acknowledge the Philippines’ claim on Sabah, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said today.
Dismissing a Manila Times report that the Philippines would ease its claim on the Borneo state in return for Malaysia’s support in its Spratlys dispute with China, Anifah said such an arrangement would be moot as Putrajaya recognises no such claim.
“Is there a claim? We have never recognised any claim. The note is irrelevant,” said Anifah when asked by reporters at a wildlife trafficking convention here.
Yesterday, the online report said that the Philippine government has offered to downgrade its claim on Sabah in exchange for Malaysia’s support for its international claim against China before the United Nations.
According to the report, the quid pro quo was in a note verbale that the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) gave to a representative of the Malaysian Embassy, shortly after the visit from Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein last week.
The note said it would review its claim, depending on Malaysia’s response to Manila’s two requests related to the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) conflicting territorial claims.
The first request is for Malaysia to confirm that its claim to an extended continental shelf is “entirely from the mainland coast of Malaysia, and not from any of the maritime features in the Spratly islands.”
The DFA requested Malaysia to confirm that it “does not claim entitlement to maritime areas beyond 12 nautical miles from any of the maritime features in the Spratly islands it claims.”
Malaysia and the Philippines are among several countries including China, Vietnam and Taiwan who are claiming parts of the Spratly islands, some with overlapping territories.
Former Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations Lauro Baja Jr. said the Philippine claim to Sabah will be “prejudiced” if Malaysia accedes to the DFA’s request.
However, he said that economically, the timber and mineral-rich Sabah is much more valuable than Spratlys, and the Philippines position on the Sabah claim was stronger than its claim on the Spratlys.
There are unverified reports of more than 600,000 Filipinos in Sabah, most of them considered by Malaysia as illegal residents and some who have obtained some form of documents.
The north Borneo state that has been the subject of a longstanding territorial dispute between the two nations based on the title of the Philippine’s Sultan of Sulu who ceded proprietary rights over the 76,115-square-kilometer land to the Philippines.
In February last year, some 200 armed militants calling themselves the Royal Sulu Force entered Sabah from South Philippines to Kampung Tanduo in Lahad Datu, to stake their claim on Sabah in the name of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III of the Sulu Sultanate.
The Sulu Sultanate has for decades been pursuing its claim over Sabah, arguing that the region had been part of the sultanate’s empire and was only leased to the British prior to the creation of Malaysia.
Malaysia still pays an annual stipend of RM5,300, a rate that was paid by the British North Borneo Company since 1903 for the “lease”.
The incident ended with several days of armed conflict with Malaysian security forces, with over 70 filipino gunmen and 10 Malaysian security officers reportedly killed in the fighting.
- See more at: Malaysia never recognised Philippine claim on Sabah, says Anifah | Malaysia | Malay Mail Online
By Julia Chan
Anifah said such an arrangement would be moot as Putrajaya recognises no such claim. — Reuters pic
KOTA KINABALU, March 30 — Malaysia has not and does not acknowledge the Philippines’ claim on Sabah, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said today.
Dismissing a Manila Times report that the Philippines would ease its claim on the Borneo state in return for Malaysia’s support in its Spratlys dispute with China, Anifah said such an arrangement would be moot as Putrajaya recognises no such claim.
“Is there a claim? We have never recognised any claim. The note is irrelevant,” said Anifah when asked by reporters at a wildlife trafficking convention here.
Yesterday, the online report said that the Philippine government has offered to downgrade its claim on Sabah in exchange for Malaysia’s support for its international claim against China before the United Nations.
According to the report, the quid pro quo was in a note verbale that the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) gave to a representative of the Malaysian Embassy, shortly after the visit from Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein last week.
The note said it would review its claim, depending on Malaysia’s response to Manila’s two requests related to the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) conflicting territorial claims.
The first request is for Malaysia to confirm that its claim to an extended continental shelf is “entirely from the mainland coast of Malaysia, and not from any of the maritime features in the Spratly islands.”
The DFA requested Malaysia to confirm that it “does not claim entitlement to maritime areas beyond 12 nautical miles from any of the maritime features in the Spratly islands it claims.”
Malaysia and the Philippines are among several countries including China, Vietnam and Taiwan who are claiming parts of the Spratly islands, some with overlapping territories.
Former Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations Lauro Baja Jr. said the Philippine claim to Sabah will be “prejudiced” if Malaysia accedes to the DFA’s request.
However, he said that economically, the timber and mineral-rich Sabah is much more valuable than Spratlys, and the Philippines position on the Sabah claim was stronger than its claim on the Spratlys.
There are unverified reports of more than 600,000 Filipinos in Sabah, most of them considered by Malaysia as illegal residents and some who have obtained some form of documents.
The north Borneo state that has been the subject of a longstanding territorial dispute between the two nations based on the title of the Philippine’s Sultan of Sulu who ceded proprietary rights over the 76,115-square-kilometer land to the Philippines.
In February last year, some 200 armed militants calling themselves the Royal Sulu Force entered Sabah from South Philippines to Kampung Tanduo in Lahad Datu, to stake their claim on Sabah in the name of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III of the Sulu Sultanate.
The Sulu Sultanate has for decades been pursuing its claim over Sabah, arguing that the region had been part of the sultanate’s empire and was only leased to the British prior to the creation of Malaysia.
Malaysia still pays an annual stipend of RM5,300, a rate that was paid by the British North Borneo Company since 1903 for the “lease”.
The incident ended with several days of armed conflict with Malaysian security forces, with over 70 filipino gunmen and 10 Malaysian security officers reportedly killed in the fighting.
- See more at: Malaysia never recognised Philippine claim on Sabah, says Anifah | Malaysia | Malay Mail Online
