WikiLeaks: Libya used Sabah to arm Moro rebels in Southern Philippines

Sabah had played a big role in the rise of the Muslim secessionist movement in Mindanao in the 1970s when it was used as conduit in the smuggling of arms from Libya to southern Philippines, according to declassified cables published by WikiLeaks.

According to two cables, former Sabah chief minister Tun Mustapha facilitated the arms smuggling from Libya, then ruled by military dictator Muammar Gaddafi, to Mindanao to arm Moro rebels there in the hope that it will force the Philippines to abandon its claim to Sabah.

A cable dated April 17, 1976, quoted then-Sabah chief minister Tun Fuad as saying that it was “no secret” that his predecessor, Mustapha, supplied arms to Philippine guerrillas.

“He said it was no secret that his predecessor, former chief minister Tun Mustapha, had been running guns and money from Libya's Gaddafi to the Philippine guerrillas,” according to the secret cable written by an unnamed American Embassy official in Kuala Lumpur.

The official reported that “assistance has been provided to Filipino Muslim insurgents directly by Mustapha, by Libya and perhaps other Arab countries through Mustapha, and there is evidence of GOM (Government of Malaysia) agencies collaborating with Mustapha.”

The official added that Mustapha seemed to have resorted to arms smuggling following reports that then-Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos was training Muslims to invade Sabah, a disputed territory. This project failed and eventually led to the killing of 68 to 200 young Moros on March 18, 1968, an event now known as the Jabidah Massacre.

“(Government of Malaysia's) involvement in the southern Philippines was triggered by evidence in 1968-89 that president Marcos was training Muslims for infiltration of Sabah (the Jabidah affair),” according to the cable.

The official also said the Sabah government would not stop arms smuggling unless Marcos gives up the Sabah claim.

“The mission feels that while present Kuala Lumpur government may be less inclined to condone direct assistance to Moro rebels, the government of Malaysia (Mustapha) will not give up possibility of extending such assistance until President Marcos publicly and categorically abandons Philippine claim to Sabah,” according to the cable.

Upon finding out about Marcos' plan to invade Sabah, Malaysia allegedly conspired with Moro secessionist groups to distract the Philippines from the Sabah claim, said Abraham Idjirani, spokesperson of the Jamalul Kiram III's sultanate whose forces are fighting against Malaysian authorities in their stake for the land.

Sabah then instigated an "arms shipping" from Libya to Sulu, Palawan and Mindanao to arm a group of young Moro soldiers which came to be known as the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), he added.

After MNLF co-opted with the Philippine government, Sabah then veered their arms shipments to a breakaway group the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Idjirani claimed. The MNLF signed a peace pact with the government in 1996. On the other hand, the MILF is now conducting exploratory talks on the peace process in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

"The arm shipments were done to augment the power capacity of the MNLF in fighting against Philippine government. When they co-opted with the Philippine government, they now encouraged the MILF to fight against Philippine government," Idjirani said in a phone interview.

"It is Malaysia who created the Mindanao conflict so that the Philippine government could not focus their attention in pursuing their claim to Sabah," he added.

Reached for a reaction, MILF peace panel chairperson Mohagher Iqbal said he does not want to comment on a "very delicate issue."

As of posting time, GMA News Online was still awaiting for a response on our e-mailed query from the Malaysian Embassy in the Philippines.

Another cable detailing the meeting between former Indonesian ambassador Sjarif Thajeb in a meeting with US State Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Marshal Green mentioned reports that the Indonesian government invited Sabah's Mustapha “in order to persuade him to stop supporting Muslim insurgents in Southern Philippines.”

The Indonesian ambassador was then under the “view that problem would be resolved if GOP (Government of the Philippines) renounced its claim to Sabah, but observed that this view (is) 'not yet' communicated to GOP,” according to the cable dated March 10, 1973. — Marc Jayson Cayabyab/KBK/RSJ, GMA News

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The Jabidah Massacre

The Jabidah massacre, also known as the Corregidor massacre, refers to an incident in which members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) massacred a number of Moro Muslim recruits who were escaping their covert training to reclaim Sabah. Sources differ regarding the details, with the number of victims ranging from 14 to 68, and some sources asserting that the massacre is a myth. The Jabidah Massacre is widely regarded as having been the catalyst behind the modern Moro insurgencies in the Southern Philippines.

Background

In 1963, the resource-rich territory of Sabah, which had been under British control since the late nineteenth-century, formally became part of the Federation of Malaysia. The Philippines, however, protested this, claiming that Sabah had never been sold to foreign interests, and that it had only been leased (padjak) by the Sulu Sultanate and therefore remained the property of the Sultan and by extension the property of Republic of the Philippines.

Operation Merdeka

This dispute led the-then Philippine presidents Diosdado Macapagal then later on Ferdinand Marcos to establish special military units tasked with fomenting dissent amongst Sabah's non-Malay ethnic groups, namely the Tausug and Sama, two groups closely aligned ethnically and culturally with Filipinos.

The code-name of this destabilization programme was "Operation Merdeka" (Operation Freedom), with Manuel Syquio as project leader and then Maj. Eduardo Abdul Latif Martelino as operations officer. The object of this program was the annexation of Sabah to the Republic of the Philippines. The plan involved the recruitment of nearly 200 Tausug and Sama Muslims aged 18 to 30 from Sulu Province and Tawi-Tawi and their training in the island-town of Simunul in Tawi-Tawi. Simunul was where the Arab missionary Makhdum built the first mosque in the Philippines in the 13th century. The recruits felt giddy about the promise not only of a monthly allowance, but also over the prospect of eventually becoming a member of an elite unit in the Philippine Armed Forces. From August to December 1967, the young recruits underwent training in Simunul. The name of the commando unit was Jabidah.

On 30 December 1967, 135 to 180 recruits boarded a Philippine Navy vessel for the island of Corregidor in Luzon for "specialized training."

This second phase of the training turned mutinous when the recruits discovered their true mission. It struck the recruits that the plan would mean not only fighting their brother Muslims in Sabah, but also possibly killing their own Tausug and Sama relatives living there. Additionally, the recruits had already begun to feel disgruntled over the non-payment of the promised monthly stipend. The recruits then demanded to be returned home.

The massacre

The sole survivor of the Massacre, Jibin Arula, recounted how the young Moro recruits were taken in batches of twelve to a remote airstrip where they were executed with machine guns by their military handlers. Arula, who was wounded in the left knee, managed to attach himself to driftwood long enough to be rescued by fishermen from the nearby province of Cavite.

Though there has never been an official count, the number of dead ranges from 28 to 60 according to Philippine government estimates, to over two hundred according to the MNLF.

Aftermath

The truth of the massacre took some time to emerge. In March 1968 Moro students in Manila held a week long protest vigil over an empty coffin marked ‘Jabidah’ in front of the presidential palace. They claimed “at least 28” Moro army recruits had been murdered. Court-martial proceedings were brought against twenty-three military personnel involved. There was also a firestorm in the Philippine press, attacking not so much the soldiers involved, but the culpability of a government administration that would foment such a plot, and then seek to cover it up by wholesale murder.

Despite the court-martial proceedings and a preliminary Supreme Court hearing held in 1970 with Eduardo L. Martelino, Cirilo Oropesa, Teodoro Facelo, Ruperto Amisoto, Alberto Soteco, Solferino Titong, et al. as petitioners, the case disappeared into the thickets of the Philippine justice system and no real punishment was ever handed-down to the accused.

Insurgency

The main legacy of the Jabidah massacre was the crystallization of Moro discontent and the subsequent formation of the Moro National Liberation Front and, later, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The one and only Jabidah Massacre survivor Jibin Arula

For years, Muslims of the Philippines had been complaining of official discrimination by consecutive Philippine governments and the Catholic majority. This included discrimination in housing and education, as well as lack of government funding for the majority-Muslim South. Coupled with the official government policy of settling Catholic Filipino emigrants in Mindanao, a class of radical Moro intellectuals emerged, led by student activist Nur Misuari.

The Jabidah Massacre further radicalized Muslims in the Philippines, leading some to take up arms in the style of the CPP. This new organization, formed in the early 1970s and led by Misuari, was named the Moro National Liberation Front. Following a split over the role of Islam in a Bangsamoro state, a new, more conservative movement emerged in 1981, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. - Wikipedia

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Wi-Tribe WiMAX Snap Review

Finally got my gritty paws on the MyPass Wifi device they are offering.

It comes in one cheap looking design but I bet this is largely because of function over form, if you don't want to read the review, here's the gist: It lasts as long as your laptop battery on optimal settings while still delivering good speeds at affordable price.

I got the device earlier today by turning in my old BOOM indoor CPE modem and they replaced it with MyPass for an additional 1000php. No extension of lock ins and no hidden charges.

The box is small, they really got uniform on their packaging from different devices. It all slides out from the side.

It is bigger than most 3G devices but hey, it's 4G anyway.

Inside the box: micro-usb to usb port for wired tethering and charging your device over laptop, AC-DC micro usb adaptor, user manual, device itself.

onto the device: looks aren't its strong suit. aside from a redesigned paint splash instead of the ugly MyPass word plastered on it before, the device itself looks like a cheap remote control that you can get from divisoria. Heck, even the battery compartment looks like the ones on a remote. There's only one button you press for 3 seconds to boot the device.

Close up of the new logo design.

Close-up of the LED lights showing battery wifi and power status.

Thickness comparison with iPhone 3G.

Other notes:

1. The antenna is obviously built-in but signal gain is about the same as the indoor CPE modem.
2. The modem software can be accessed via 192.168.1.1. you can change SSID, and change your wifi password within the modem web software.
3. Battery life is about 2~2.5 hours depending on usage. You can set how powerful your wifi can transmit at the cost of your battery life.
4. It still is limited to 5 users at a time. Range on low settings can't cover my ~140sq.mtr. condo unit, medium has some spotty areas and high just about covers all the corners. *YMMV
5. Network speed: I'm on demo mode as of the moment and my account has not yet been associated with the MyPass modem's MAC address so I'm still not getting 2mbps. I'm hitting 1mbps though on a demo account.

Verdict: It may be cheap looking and bigger than the competition but wi-tribe sure knows how to balance mobility and cost so that consumers won't suffer.

Good for students, mobile professionals and minimalists.

P.S. I saw their coverage area, they have pretty much covered the whole metro and some outlying provinces but I still suggest using it within Manila, QC, and Makati. Surprisingly, they have more numbers of BTS in Manila City alone than any other cities. They also plan to expand to Laguna and Cavite City based on their coverage tool.

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Who’s to blame for ‘Sabah standoff’?

‘What’s happening in Sabah is the consequence of decades of neglect by the government to pursue a legitimate claim to the territory.’

WHAT’S called the “Sabah standoff” between Malaysian special forces and a band of followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III of Sulu is really the latest in a long series of attempts to claim what used to be North Borneo, a territory owned by the Sultanate of Sulu and ceded to the Philippine government long, long ago..

The very first time the Philippine claim came into being was during the administration of then President Diosdado Macapagal, who raised the issue before the United Nations soon after the formation of the Federation of Malaysia that included the North Borneo territory, renamed “Sabah,” in 1963. Macapagal claimed that the territory was “ceded” to the Philippine government by the Sultanate of Sulu, but the people in Sabah opted in a UN-supervised referendum to join Malaysia. Succeeding administrations of Presidents Ferdinand E. Marcos, Corazon C. Aquino, Fidel E. Ramos, Joseph “Erap” Estrada and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo also tried but failed to pursue the “Philippine claim to Borneo.” And when President Noynoy Aquino came to power, he neglected the Borneo claim, seemingly unaware of the existence of the Sulu sultanate, and even left it out during the peace negotiations between his administration and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that eventually crafted last year the so-called “framework government,” which, significantly, was sealed in Kuala Lumpur in the presence of Malaysia’s top officials.

It’s no wonder that Sultan Kiram dispatched a contingent of 1,000 followers, led by Rajah Mudah Agbimuddin Liram to that remote town of Lahad Datu in Sabah, which he called “our home.” He and other heirs of the Sulu sultanate, in fact, have been receiving yearly rentals from the Malaysia government for occupying that territory. As shown by historical records, it was gifted to the Sulu sultan by the Sultan of Brunei for helping him quell a rebellion in his kingdom in 1704. Then, in 1878, the Sultan of Sulu leased the land to the British North Borneo Company, but, without informing the Sultanate, turned it over to the Federat5ion of Malaysia.

Now, according to news reports, the Sabah standoff has “infuriated” President Aquino, that he suspected it’s a plot to “sabotage” his “peace initiatives” to end the long simmering conflict in Mindanao between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). His peace negotiators must have whispered to him that Kiram’s action was instigated by Nur Misuari, chieftain of the National Liberation Front (MNLF), along with Aquino’s uncle, former Tarlac Congressman Peping Cojuangco, aunt Margarita Cojuangco, now a senatorial candidate under the banner of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), and Norberto Gonzales, former national security adviser of then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

If anyone is to blame for what could end up in a bloody clash between Kiram’s group and the Malaysian special forces, the fault lies in Noynoy Aquino, not in anyone else!

***

They say that the Philippine claim to Sabah is “dormant.” That’s because Aquino and his foreign policy officials, especially his so-called “peace negotiators,” have ignored the fact that that territory is now in the hands of Malaysia instead of the Philippines.

The best proof of ownership is the fact that to this day Malaysia continues to pay the Sultanate of Sulu the equivalent of $1,500 as “lease payments,” a virtual acceptance that the Malaysian government does not own the territory. Not only this, the same territory had long been ceded by the Sultanate to the Philippine government, and the failure of the present administration to assert its right of ownership over it ever since President Aquino came to power three years ago.

As other political commenters have noted, why isn’t the Grand Pooh-bah of Malacañang Palace defending the Sulu Sultanate’s territorial claim over Sabah, which is also the legitimate claim of the Philippine government, with the same ardor as he has given the ancestral claim of the Filipino Muslims to parts of Mindanao as their homeland?

Shouldn’t the President protect those men of Sultan Kiram in Sabah?

***

Quote of the Day: “Men love their country, not because it is great, but because it is their own!” – Senica

Thought of the Day: “Love of country is like love of woman – he loves best who seeks to bestow on her the highest good.” – Anonymous

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The Danger will result Sabah Standoff

If Malaysia is clumsy about handling the Sabah standoff, it will have the same problem the Philippine government had when it fought a Muslim rebellion in the South in the 1970s up to the 1980s.

Here's the evidence of Leased Payment from Malaysian Government to the Heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu that is being leaked on the internet. 

Malaysia is in a no-win situation as a result of the standoff in Sabah.

If it uses deadly force on a small group of armed Filipino Muslims now holed up in the village of Tanduo in Lahad Datu town in Sabah, members of the fiercest of Philippine Moro tribe, the Tausugs (People of the Current) of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, will retaliate.

If, on the other hand, Malaysia compromises with the armed group purportedly belonging to the Sultanate of Sulu, it will be perceived as a weakling by its neighbors.

Which will Malaysia choose, fighting a rebellion in the Sabah state or swallowing its pride and compromise with the Sultanate of Sulu?

Better to be perceived as a weakling rather than have a bloody civil war in Sabah.

* * *

There is no record of the number of Filipinos, mostly Tausugs/People of the Current, in Sabah.

But a friend of mine who used to be in the Philippine military intelligence estimates that one-third of the population in the Malaysian state is Tausug.

Many of the people in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi have relatives in Sabah, which is just one hour by speedboat from Simunul in Tawi-Tawi.

If the Tausogs in Sabah rise up in revolt against the Malaysian government, their relatives in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi will go to Sabah and fight with them.

To the Tausogs, the claim of the group purporting to represent the Sultanate of Sulu that Sabah belongs to the sultanate is legitimate.

The Sulu Sultanate, long dormant and somewhat forgotten because of the war waged by the Tausog-led MNLF against the government, is still revered by Moros in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Tausogs respect the Sultan of Sulu in much the same way Malaysians pay homage to their royal family.

If harm is done to Rajah Mudah Agbimuddin Kiram, brother of Sultan Jamalul Kiram, who ordered the Mudah Agbimuddin to enter Sabah, his fellow Tausugs in Sabah and in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi will take up arms against the Malaysian government.

Filipino Muslims declare a rido or vendetta against people who harm their relatives.

The Rido has set off feuds between families or clans that last for decades.

Most of the Tausogs in Sabah have relatives in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi who are ready to take revenge if harm is done to Rajah Mudah Agbimuddin Kiram and his armed followers in Lahad Datu town.

My source in Sulu said that even before the landing of 200 men in Lahad Datu last week, the Sultanate had already sent armed men in small groups to Sabah to escape notice from authorities.

The armed groups are being coddled by Tausugs in the Malaysian state.

The ocean border between Sabah and the Philippines is porous or easily penetrated.

Most of the tens of thousands of Filipino illegal immigrants in Sabah entered through this porous border.

It’s very easy for armed Tausugs to enter Sabah and wage a guerrilla war against the Malaysian government should hostilities break out between the Sultanate group and Malaysian police.

Tausogs love to fight and look for reasons to pick a fight.

If Malaysia assumes a violent stance against the Sulu Sultanate group, the Tausugs will have a reason to fight them.

* * *

When the government was fighting the MNLF in the 1970s through the 1980s, Malaysia was secretly supporting the rebellion in the South.

Weapons coming from Libya and other Middle East countries passed through Malaysia on their way to the MNLF.

Now, it seems the shoe is on the other foot. The law of karma is being played out. - source

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Evidence: Sabah Leased Payment From Malaysia

Is Sabah or North Borneo really belongs to Malaysia? Yes, that is actually a very big question mark since there are standoff in Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia until today there are about 100 - 300 Royal Arm Forces of the Sulu Sultane occupying the town. The big question is that if Malaysia really owns Sabah or North Borneo so why does it have to make an annual leased payments the Malaysian Government to the Heirs of Sultanate of Sulu? Some leaked evidence exists that the truth of recent annual Sabah leased payment to the Sultanate of Sulu is as follows:

Please do not ask me were I got it, asked Mr. Google. Images credits to the blogger original source its in Malay language you have to used Google Translate to fits your mother tongue to be able for you to comprehend.

If all these document fees above is true, therefore the claimants are sure that Sabah does not belong to Malaysia and only proves the existence of the legal owner of Sabah are the Sultanate of Sulu.

SABAH IS AN ISSUE BETWEEN Lessor landlord (THE SULTAN OF Sulu)
AND ILLEGAL Tenant (MALAYSIA)

Sabah or North Borneo and the island of Spratly islands including Palawan were bestowed as Eternal Gifts to the Sultan of Sulu by the Sultan of Brunei in 1658 in gratitude for the Military assistance of the Sultan of Sulu to avert a civil war in Borneo. Thus, since That time, Sabah became a property of the Sultan of Sulu and the Sultanate of Sulu. Sabah's problem is illegal That Squatter Tenant (Malaysia) squatted on the property and sovereign patrimony of the Sultan of Sulu, the original Owner of Sabah since 1658 to this day

In 1878, HM Sultan Jamalul Ahlam Kiram (The Sultan of Sulu & The Sultan of Sabah), as the legitimate owner, leased Sabah to a British company of Gustavus Baron de Overbeck and Alfred Dent for Their durable and Their heirs for an amount of 5.000 Mexican dollars or 5.000 pieces of eight in gold per year (Selatan is equivalent to over U.S. $ 20 million today per year) but this Perpetual Lease prohibits the transfer of Sabah to Any nation, company or individual without the consent of His Majesty's Government ("Government of the Sultan of Sulu "). The transfer of Sabah by Great Britain to Malaysia in 1963 constituted a "breach" of the provisions of the 1878 Lease as the Government of the Sultan of Sulu did not consent to the transfer to Malaysia. As a point in law, Sabah must and Should be returned to the lessor or owners; ie, the Sultan of Sulu and the Sultanate of Sulu.

"Perpetual Lease" means the lease or rental That agreement was not Eternal but it was only "Perpetual" or continuous to the original lessees or renters for as long as the Original Lessees were alive but de Overbeck and Dent Brothers the two were long dead so Perpetual Lease this no longer existed and thus Sabah Should revert Should be returned to the Sultan of Sulu as lessor landlord Owner and Should NOT be illegally occupied by Malaysia.

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Sulu Sultanate: North Borneo-Sabah & 1878 Treaty

The Sultan of Sulu Darul Islam (SDI) sultanate that was founded in 1457 by a Johore-born Arab explorer and religious scholar Sayyid Abu Bakr Abirin after he settled in Banua Buansa Ummah (ummah is an Arabic term for “community”), Sulu.

After the marriage of Abu Bakr and local dayang-dayang (princess) Paramisuli, he founded the sultanate and assumed the title Paduka Mahasari Maulana al Sultan Sharif ul-Hāshim. Sharif ul-Hāshim was a direct descendant of Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas had outlined the ancestors of Sulu Sultanate including Maguindanao Sultanate (emcompasses Mindanao) through his book Historical Fact & Fiction where the facts had shown their lineage consists of Ahlul Bayt descendants.

Here's the evidence of Leased Payment from Malaysian Government to the Heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu that is being leaked on the internet.

The North Borneo-Sabah and 1878 Treaty

On 22 January 1878 the ruler of Sulu, His Majesty Sultan Jamalul A’Lam, signed a treaty, under which he leased the territory of North Borneo to Gustavus von Overbeck, an Austrian who was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire‘s consul-general in Hong Kong and to his British partner Alfred Dent, residing in London, as representatives of the British North Borneo Company, without giving away his sovereign rights, and for as long as they desire to use these coastlines. Von Overbeck procured the necessary firearms and also promised to pay to His Majesty Jamalul A’Lam, his heirs and successors the sum of 5,000 dollars rental a year payable every year.

A January 7, 1883, letter from the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Lord Granville confirms the position that the “takeover” of the British of Sabah, a Sulu property was a lease, not a purchase.

It states: “The British Charter [representing the British North Borneo Company] therefore differs essentially from the previous Charters granted by the Crown… in the fact that the Crown in the present case assumes no dominion or sovereignty over the territories occupied by the Company, nor does it purport to grant to the Company powers of government thereover; it merely conveys upon the persons associated the status and incidents of a body corporate, and recognizes the grants of territory and the powers of government made and delegated by the Sultan in whom the sovereignty remains vested. It differs also from previous Charters in that it prohibits instead of grants a general monopoly of trade.

“As regards the general features of the undertaking, it is to be observed that the territories granted to the Company have been for generations under the government of the Sultanate of Sulu and Brunei, with whom Great Britain has had Treaties of Peace and Commerce.”

In retrospect, the British Foreign Affairs communique conceded that the matter of sovereignty remained vested in the Sultan of Sulu and could not be delegated to any party because the Deed of 1878 expressly prohibited it.

Perhaps the thorniest item in the Sabah / Sulu agenda was whether the Overbeck-Dent pact with the Sultan of Sulu was a lease or sale (Padjak=Lease? or locally in north Borneo mean buy or lease ALL, and not part of something, paying rental of $5000 per year is the clear evident of lease and not sale). Scholarly sources, including those officially issued by Britain and the US, pointed out that the sovereignty over Sabah, as stipulated in the Philippine claim, was never, at any time in the past and present, relinquished in favor of any person, organization, or entity. Legally and technically, it remained to this day as the exclusive property of the heirs of the sultanate of Sulu. This statement confirms the observation that the transfer of rights made by the lessees to the British North Borneo Company was ab initio flawed and illegal.

However, in 1963 when a negotiation was made in London with Britain for the recovery of North Borneo. The British, in defense of their own argument, insisted the covenant entered into by Overbeck and Dent with Sulu Sultan Hadji Mohammad Jamalul Kiram was a sale, not a lease.

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China Hungry For Oil in disputed waters

Indonesia – China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea appear to be motivated by a hunger to exploit the area’s rich oil and gas resources, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said yesterday (July 23, 2011).

Speaking on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum here, Del Rosario also said China’s behavior in the disputed waters raised concerns about how it would treat its neighbors as it became more powerful.

“I think the wealth of the area in terms of hydrocarbon assets could stimulate an increased interest in the area,” Del Rosario said when asked why China had, according to the Philippines, become more aggressive.

He said the Philippines was looking at the events in Southeast Asia’s disputed waters through a broader window of how China intended to treat other countries as it became more powerful.

“I think there is that concern that China is becoming more powerful,” he said.

“We support their progress and their growth. It is good for the region. But at the same time it is our expectation that their strength and their growth and their influence will be exercised in a responsible way,” he said.

China claims all of the South China Sea, even up to the coast of Southeast Asian countries, as part of its historical territory, on the other hand, The Sultanate of Sulu slams the claim of China as the Spratlys Islands and waters is part of their Ancestral domain with bases dates back from the Mahjapahit and Shrivijaya empires, which extended from Sabah (North Borneo), the Sulu archipelago, Palawan, parts of Mindanao, the islands now known as the Spratlys, Palawan, and up to the Visayas and Manila.

Del Rosario said these intrusions occurred within 85 nautical miles of Palawan, but nearly 600 nautical miles from the nearest coast of China.

He insisted China’s claim to all of the sea, based on a Chinese map with nine dashes outlining its territory, would be rejected in an international court.

“We take the position that China’s nine-dash claim to sovereignty over the South China Sea is baseless,” he said.

“If Philippine sovereign rights can be denigrated by this baseless claim, many countries should begin to contemplate the potential threat to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea,” Del Rosario said.

“China’s hesitation to accept the Philippine suggestion to elevate their dispute to ITLOS (International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea) could lead to conclusion that China may not be able to validate their stated positions in accordance with the UNCLOS,” he said. UNCLOS refers to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Del Rosario proposed on June 11 that the Philippines and China elevate the issue to ITLOS.

The DFA chief also praised the ASEAN Regional Forum for its role in keeping stability and strengthening cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region since 1994.

“With the focus being on non-traditional security issues, we have managed to expand the opportunities for dialogue and cooperation in the four priority areas, namely: disaster relief, counter-terrorism and transnational crime, non-proliferation and disarmament, and maritime security,” he said.

He cited the expansion of the East Asia Summit (EAS) – to include Russia and the US – as well as the launching of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus as two significant developments in the past year.

“The Philippines recognizes the importance of forging closer cooperation and harmonizing these regional mechanisms to ensure coordination in addressing security issues in the Asia-Pacific region,” Del Rosario said.

US concern over the Spratlys conflict

Also in the forum, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that a recent surge in tensions threatened regional peace, while warning against force to solve the dispute.

“The United States is concerned that recent incidents in the South China Sea threaten the peace and stability on which the remarkable progress of the Asia Pacific region has been built,” Clinton said in prepared remarks to foreign ministers.

“These incidents endanger the safety of life at sea, escalate tensions, undermine freedom of navigation, and pose risks to lawful unimpeded commerce and economic development,” she said.

“Each of the parties should comply with their commitments to respect freedom of navigation and over-flight in the South China Sea in accordance with international law, to resolve their disputes through peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force,” she said.

China claims all of the South China Sea, even up to the coast of Southeast Asian countries, as part of what it considers historical territory.

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims to all or parts of the sea, which is believed to be extremely rich in oil and gas deposits.

In recent months, the Philippines and Vietnam have accused China of increasingly aggressive behavior in the sea, such as harassing fishermen and oil exploration vessels.

The Philippines has said Chinese forces shot at Filipino fishermen, deployed navy patrol boats to intimidate an oil exploration vessel and placed markers on some of the islets.

The area has long been considered one of Asia’s potential military flashpoints, and in 1998 Vietnam fought a brief naval battle with China on one of the reefs that left 50 Vietnamese sailors dead.

Vietnam said that, in one incident, Chinese sailors boarded a Vietnamese fishing boat and beat its captain before stealing the crew’s catch.

China has responded to the accusations by insisting it wants to resolve the dispute peacefully, but firmly maintaining all of the South China Sea is its sovereign territory.

At a meeting with the 10 members of the ASEAN on Wednesday in Bali, China agreed to a set of guidelines setting a framework for an eventual code of conduct for the South China Sea.

China and some ASEAN members hailed this as a breakthrough that would defuse the tensions, however, the Philippines maintained that the Chinese side had not made enough concessions and the guidelines lacked teeth.

Clinton praised the guidelines as an “important first step,” but called on all parties to work more quickly towards achieving a final diplomatic solution.

“The United States encourages all parties to accelerate efforts to reach a full code of conduct in the South China Sea,” Clinton said.

In comments likely to further irk China, Clinton also emphasized the US had a “national interest” in keeping the sea’s vital shipping lanes open for international trade and navigation.

Taiwan refuses to recognize ASEAN-China pact on Spratlys

Taipei - Taiwan on Friday (July 22, 2011) said it refused to recognize a pact reached between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China on the Spratlys islands dispute two days earlier.

The Foreign Ministry said that the Republic of China (Taiwan) government will not recognize any resolution on the Spratlys reached without its participation.

On Wednesday, ASEAN and China agreed on a so-called Declaration of Conduct setting up guidelines for international cooperation in disputed parts of the South China Sea.

The Taiwan Foreign Ministry said that whether looked at from the perspective of history, geography or international law, the Spratlys as well as their surrounding waters, seabeds and subsoil, belong to the Republic of China (Taiwan).

Taiwan upholds the basic principles of 'safeguarding sovereignty, shelving disputes, promoting peace and reciprocity, and encouraging joint exploration,' the ministry said. It is willing to work with other relevant parties in the region to find resolutions to disputes.

The Spratlys are claimed wholly or in part by Vietnam, Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, and all but Brunei have a military presence on one or more of the otherwise uninhabited atolls. The islands are believed to contain substantial offshore petroleum reserves.

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Sultanate of Sulu won’t budge

Undaunted amidst mounting pressure from both the Philippine and Malaysian governments, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, the acknowledged leader of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo insisted that his royal decree that authorized the presence of his younger brother, crown prince Rajah Mudah Agbimuddin Kiram and the combined civilian and armed followers in Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia, stays.

Here's the evidence of Leased Payment from Malaysian Government to the Heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu that is being leaked on the internet.

“My decree is not about war. We are not waging war. I sent my brother in Sabah in the name of peace and in exercise of our historic, ancestral and sovereign right over Sabah,” Jamalul told the INQUIRER in a phone interview facilitated through members of his family who were beside him as he was resting after undergoing his regular dialysis treatment.

Jamalul is in Metro Manila and is guarded by family and close relatives.

Asked as to until when his decree stays? Jamalul said, “For as long as necessary. Sabah is our homeland and the international community acknowledges this. If we have to go to the United Nations we will do so. It is upon us, the leaders of Sulu to claim back what is ours,” the sultan added.

Does he have any message for the Philippine government?

“Everything I want to tell the President, I already told him in a letter sent to him, shortly after he assumed the presidency in 2010. I told him in that letter that it is the noble dream of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo to achieve unity, peaceful survival and economic prosperity and to be able to achieve that, the Sabah issue cannot be ignored,” Jamalul said.

Jamalul is 74 years old, the eldest among the Kiram brothers who are direct descendants of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo. He ran and lost for senator in the 2007 National Elections under the Team Unity of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Abraham Julpa Idjirani, secretary general and spokesperson for the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo said, Jamalul was supposed to meet on Saturday afternoon with some officials of the Aquino administration but was not able to do so because of the dialysis treatment.

Jamalul’s wife Fatima Celia told the INQUIRER that her husband has been undergoing dialysis treatment for more than a year now.

Open to talks with Palace

Idjirani said, they are open to talks with any official sent by Malacañang as he was already contacted by several officials of the Aquino administration since the standoff in Lahad Datu, Malaysia, was reported in the media. He did not identify the officers who got in touch with him but mentioned the agencies these officials are attached to. “Magpahinga lang si Sultan Jamalul, at pag naka-pahinga na siya, puwede na naming harapin ang sinumang opisyal na gustong makipag-usap sa kanya (After resting, Sultan Jamalul can face any official who wants to talk to him),” Idjirani said.

The INQUIRER also learned from another independent source who wished not to be identified that President Benigno Aquino III was informed of the presence of civilian and armed supporters of the Sultanate of Sulu in Lahad Datu, Malaysia, as early as the morning of Feb. 11 through one of his Cabinet members. “But at that time, the report was still sketchy and we had no idea who the group was. But the President was alerted about this on Day 1 of their landing in Sabah,” the source said.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser in the Peace Process had no comment on Saturday on the Kirams’ claim that they were taking back Sabah.

In Lahad Datu in Sabah, Agbimuddin told the Inquirer that he only follows and receives order from Jamalul and no one else. No one can force us to leave. Even if I, as crown prince of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo is guarded by armed men belonging to our royal security forces, we will never provoke any encounter,” Agbimuddin said.

Assorted arms

Members of the royal security force are armed with assorted long firearms, Agbimuddin said. “M-14, M-16, M203, Baby Armalite, basta assorted ang dala namin (we have all kinds),” he explained when asked what type of firearms they were carrying.

The active recruitment for members of the royal security force of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo, according to Agbimuddin, began in 1999 but training only began in 2001 in Simunol, Tawi-Tawi, Isabela, Basilan and even in mainland Zamboanga. “Sa Grand Stand pa nga kami ng Zamboanga nag-physical fitness exercise at alam ng Southcom ’yan (We do our physical fitness exercises at the Zamboanga grand stand, and the Southcom knew it),” Agbimuddin added.

The Southcom he is referring to is the Southern Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines based in Zamboanga City and the Grand Stand is the one near Cawa-Cawa Boulevard.

Relatives on board

Who takes care of their logistics? Like food and other basic necessities since their landing in Lahad Datu?

Agbimuddin said, most of the residents of Tanduao, Lahad Datu, are Tausugs and relatives of the ones who went with him on board a motorboat from Tawi-Tawi. “Hindi kami magugutom dito at ang mga babae na kasama namin, sila ang nagluluto para sa amin (The women who are with us are doing the cooking).”

Will other groups with the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo follow him in Lahad Datu?

More coming

Agbimuddin answered that was his understanding, but he said he didn’t know when. There might even be more, he said.

Another source from Sulu told the Inquirer that a group identified with a local political clan with a stronghold in one municipality there is reportedly getting ready to follow Agbimuddin in Sabah. The source identified the political leader as a relative of the Kirams and also a former mayor and a former member of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) known then as the “Tiger of the MNLF.”

“The mayor is getting ready and waiting for the order from Sultan Kiram III to proceed [to Sabah],” the source said in Filipino, adding that the influential leader in Sulu, now in his early 60s, command a force of more than 200 men. - source

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Sabah issue draws line between MNLF and MILF?

The line has been drawn again between two of Mindanao's biggest rebel groups - this time on the issue of Sabah.

Here's the evidence of Leased Payment from Malaysian Government to the Heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu that is being leaked on the internet.

The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which is led by Chairman Nur Misuari, which has signed a peace pact with the government in the mid-90s, is throwing its support on the Sultanate of Sulu in its decision to revive its claim on Sabah.

On the other hand, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) says its does not agree with the actions of the Sultanate, though the rebel group says they hold the royal family in highest regard.

MILF Vice Chairman Ghadzali Jaafar says they would prefer for the Sultanate to resolve their claim in a peaceful manner, so as not to risk lives.

The MILF's reaction comes in the wake of pronouncements made by the Sultanate of Sula that it has been alienated from the on-going GPH-MILF peace talks, especially with the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB).

Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer of the University of the Philippines, the lead government negotiator, says says the government peace panel met with the Kiram brothers, led by Sultan Jamalul III in 2011, as a way of acknowledging the Sultanate's historical importance.

"The Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) does provide for respect for customs and recognition of identities and narratives as part of transitional justice. It takes into account the plurality of groups and histories in the Bangsamoro," Ferrer says. "The unsettled claims over Sabah is a foreign policy matter that is outside the purview of the talks."

The Sultanate earlier said that, aside from failing to help assert the Sabah claim, the government even made them irrelevant by allegedly ignoring them in the negotiations.

MILF Vice Chairman Jaafar insists that the Sultanate was never excluded in their negotiations.

He even called on Sultan Jamalul III to refrain from using the Framework Agreement as "scapegoat" to push for their Sabah bid.

For Julkipli Wadi, dean of the UP Institute of Islamic Studies, the government should have accorded the royal family appropriate recognition.

The least it could have done, according to Wadi, was offer a titular position to the Sultanate under the agreement it is making with the MILF.

But Wadi notes that there could also be unseen forces provoking the Sultanate to resort to drastic actions, such as sending a contingent to occupy an area in Lahad Datu town in Sabah, Malaysia.

The government, Julkipli says, should also be ready to compromise, putting much weight on the Sultanate's significant role to history and the rights of its people. - source

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Funding of Sultan's men in Sabah under question

If Sultan Jamalul Kiram III could have had his way, his men would have never crossed to Sabah and occupied a village in Lahad Datu town more than a week ago - because in reality the Sultanate of Sulu, as royal as it might sound, has been struggling with its finances.

Here's the evidence of Leased Payment from Malaysian Government to the Heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu that is being leaked on the internet.

The Sultanate is on the verge of bankruptcy, according to Julkipli Wadi, dean of the Institute of Islamic Studies at the University of the Philippines.

The Malaysian government pays a meager 5,330 ringgit - roughly P70, 000 - for its annual lease of Sabah. The amount is then divided among the nine descendants of the Kirams.

Dayang-Dayang Sitti Krishna Kiram–Idjirani, one of sultan's younger sisters, said that she would only get P600 from the lease - which is not even enough to pay for her monthly phone bill.

The Sultan himself regularly needs medical attention, including dialysis, because he had a heart bypass operation a few years ago.

So the Sabah standoff has put into question how the Sultanate could afford to send at least 200 armed followers to Sabah and occupy a village.

Sources in the intelligence community said that they were looking into the source of funding of the group.

Ghadzali Jaafar, vice chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), pointed out that the cost of weapons alone would be high.

An M-16 rifle would cost P65,000 while an M-14 rifle would cost P85, 000 - no ammunition included, he said.

The Sultanate's spending for the trip to Sabah would also have to cover motorized sea vessels, food, and support for their families back home.

One point under suspicion is the ties that bind Sultan Kiram III and Norberto Gonzales, once a national security adviser and secretary of National Defense during the Ramos and Arroyo administrations.

The speculation is that dirty politics may have instigated the Sultanate to throw a monkey wrench on the ongoing peace talks between the government and the MILF by using the Sabah claim as a leverage.

Despite such suspicions, Pastor Boy Salcon, a supporter of the Sultanate of Sulu, said he believed that the Sultanate has the means to fund followers in Sabah.

“They are doing this on their own, bringing their own provisions, bringing their own logistical requirements," Salcon said. "No money whatsoever will come from any foreign entity or even rich entity from the Philippines.”

But experts from the academe view the Sabah standoff from a different perspective.

While they agree that doubts may be raised on the motivations of the Sultanate, mishandling the present situation, such as violently forcing followers to return to the Philippines, may lead to dire consequences.

“I know where they are coming from but that is a danger there that when you ask them to do that, that means those people have lost face. And you know what happens when people lose face, they will really go to war”, said Clarita Carlos, President of the Center for Asia Pacific Studies Inc. and a full-time professor at the University of the Philippines.

Once violence breaks out, Carlos said that the ongoing GPH-MILF peace talks will likely be its first casualty, since Malaysia has been brokering the negotiations.

If the situation worsens, the conflict could actually be used to destabilize the Aquino administration.

Meanwhile, Dean Wadi said that there could be a reconfiguration of forces between the Muslim factions, such as the MNLF, the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and the Sultunate - they might join forces to support the Sultanate.

Both Wadi and Carlos insist that the government and MILF should consider modifying their peace agreement to accommodate the Sultanate as the most viable solution to end the present crisis. - source

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SABAH CLAIM ISSUE IS NON NEGOTIABLE

WHY did the Malaysian Government still holding back the series of proposals to set up a Philippines Consulate Office in Kota Kinabalu to look after the welfares of the Filipinos in Sabah since the dawn of independence?

Here's the evidence of Leased Payment from Malaysian Government to the Heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu that is being leaked on the internet.

The precise and simple answer: our government is still giving ‘careful consideration’ to the proposal for certain reasons, which constitutes inter alia ‘Manila continuing insistence to claim its right on Sabah is delaying the process of setting up a Philippine Consulate in the State’.

With reference to a number of published literatures and thesis compiled by several researchers, historians including Filipinos scholars that the Philippines formally claimed Sabah based on the Sultanate of Sulu heirs’ historical sovereignty of the territory, which was granted as a token of appreciation by the Sultan of Brunei for helping the later to fight against piracy infesting within the Northern Borneo territory.

The scholars have come up with a number of arguments, collectively gathered as a results of their research works conducted over the decades, documented and published as source of academic and legal references and journals worldwide. The free encyclopedia from Wikipedia provides a detailed summary of the North Borneo dispute including the Philippines Claim on Sabah.

By virtue of the research notes compiled by Erwin S Fernandez, Department of Filipino and Philippines Literature, University of the Philippines, Diliman, published by The Asia–Pacific Social Science Review : Volume 7 Number 1 , December 2007with the topic “Philippine–Malaysia Dispute over Sabah : A Bibliographical Survey, descriptively elaborated lengthy details about the topics inclusive.

a) Macapagal : Establishing the Philippines Claim, whereby President Diosdado Macapagal “was forced to initiate the filing of the claim of Sabah in 1962, because Sabah was` being considered as a member of the proposed concept of Malaysia broached by Prime Minister Tengku Abdul Rahman on May 27, 1961 in Singapore. After the London Talks, the United Kingdom agreed to relinquish its sovereignty and jurisdiction over Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo in favour of the creation of the Federation of Malaysia.

After the conduct and results of the United Nations Malaysia Mission were known, The Federation of Malaysia was `established on Sept 16, 1963 instead of the scheduled August 31, 1963. Macapagal expressed reservation on the results of UN Mission and refused to recognise the government of Malaysia in the belief that it would prejudice the Philippines claim to North Borneo.”

b) Marcos : Fomenting and Managing a crisis-When President Ferdinand Marcos assumed the reins of government, relations with Malaysia was still unstable and unsecured. It was only in June 1966 that both governments planned to raise their own consulates to embassies and issued a communiqué. 

In March 1968, the Marcos Administration faced a critical point of the Philippines Claim and the possible breakdown of Philippines–Malaysia relations when the “Jabidah Massacre “controversy was exposed, whereby Moros had been recruited for a plan to stage a rebellion and eventual occupation of Sabah under the code name Project Merdeka, which led to the Bangkok Talks from June 17–July 15, 1968 between representatives of both countries in question. 

However, the talks ended in failure and further worsened the diplomatic relations between the two countries, when the Philippines Congress passed a law in Sept 1968 known as Republic Act No: 5446, which categorically stated that “this act is without prejudice to the delineation of the baselines of the territorial sea around the territory of Sabah, situated in North Borneo over which the Republic of the Philippines has acquired dominion and sovereignty (Noble, 1977 p.181) diplomatic ties between the two countries were severed and only a year later in Dec 1969 did the Philippines and Malaysia resume diplomatic relations.

c) Contesting Legal Claims Two non–Filipinos namely Malaysian Mohammed bin Dato Ariff, the author of The Philippines Claim to Sabah, its historical, Legal and Political Implications (1970) discussed extensively the legal issues surrounding the claims, whereby the author provided the basis for the integration of Sabah to Malaysia and cited the principle of self-determination, the Sabahans having already expressed their desire to remain in the Federation, while S. Jayaratnam the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Singapore, was `of the opinion that the Philippines case “is weak and tenuous (25 Nov 1969 :10 ) 

Following the study of Mohammed bin Dato Ariff, Jayakumar also invoked the idea of effective occupation on the part of Great Britain of Sabah since 1878 which granted the British North Borneo Company a chartered of corporate character. The author contended that “the Philippines Claim is at most, an abstract or inchoate one based on historically derivatives rights of the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu (Ibid) Neither the Philippines nor the heir of the Sultan have exercised sovereignty or been in effective occupation of Sabah since 1878.

The Philippine formally presented its claim only in 1962 United Kindom was the State, which had effective occupation until 16 Sept 1963, when Sabah became part of Malaysia in accordance with the wishes of the people (as determine by the UN Secretary General) “Malaysia, for purposes, of International Law, is now the State in “effective occupation” and exercising sovereignty over Sabah (Ibid).

d) The Claim and its relation to foreign policy

e ) Outsiders’ view (or mainly the British side of the question) e) A bibliography and compilations and a series of reference etc .

The foot note of this journal reads “The Deed of 1878 refers to the agreement dated January 22 between the Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Azam and Baron Gustavus Von Overbeck leasing the Sultan’s dominions in North Borneo in exchange of five thousand Malaysian Dollars as annual rent with William Treacher, British Governor of Labuan as witness.

This was Cesar Adib Majul’s estimate in his book “Muslim in the Philippines (1999) in contrast to the 1704 date proposed by K.G Tregonning in his book “Under Chartered Company Rule (1958) later published in 1975 as “A History of Modern Sabah 1881–1946.

The North Borneo Cession Order of 1946 laid the basis for the transfer of sovereignty and dominion from British North Borneo Company to the British Crown which stated that “with effect from the fifteenth day of July 1946, to the extend that the Crown should, as from that day full sovereign rights over, and title to, the territory of the State of North Borneo and that said territory should hereupon become part of her Majesty’s Dominions“.

The partial list of the documents` are as follows :

1. Letter of Earl of Derby to Lord Odo Russell denying Spanish claim of sovereignty over Sulu January 17, 1876.
2. Protocol of Sulu 1877
3. Letter of Acing Consul General Treacher to the Earl of Derby dated January 2, 1878
4. Contrato de Arrendo de Sandacan en Borneo con el Baron de Overbeck January 4, 1878
5. Interpretation of the Moro Language of Mindanao translation of the previous communication in Arabic Transcripts of the contract which His Eminence the Sultan of Jolo executed with Baron de Overback January 1878,
6. Translation by Professor Conklin of the Deed of 1878 in Arabic Characters found by Mr Quintero in Washington , D.C January 22 , 1878 ,
7. “Commission from the Sultan of Sulu appointing Baron de Overback Datu Bandahara and Rajah of Sandakan obtained by Mr Quintero in Washington, January 22, 1878.
8. Report of Acting Consul General W.H Treacher to the Earl of Derby January 12, 1878.
9. Letter dated July 4, 1878 from the Sultan of Sulu to the Governor Caption General of the Philippines denying that Sandakan was ceded to Overbeck.
10. Letter dated July 22,1878 from the Sultan of Sulu to the Governor of Sulu stating that he will cancel the lease of Sandakan and 23 more documents.

K.G Tregonning, former Raffles Professor of History in the University of Singapore, the author of A History of Modern Sabah 1881–1963 (1965) first published as Under Chartered Company Rule (1958) The position of the Author regarding the Philippines on Sabah can be summarised as follows :

1) The agreement between the Sulu Sultan and Dent and Overbeck was one of a cession and not a lease.

2) Several treaties and International Conventions had excluded North Borneo from the territory of the Philippines either during the Spanish or American period. “The question of whether it was a cession or perpetual lease (whatever that is) seemed a stupid word game“ (1965 :245) The Manila Convention of 1885, The Treaty of Paris of 1998 and the US–UK Boundary Convention of 1930 and at the same time noted the acquiescence to these of the Philippines Constitution.

The full text of the conclusion reads “It may be that the Philippines has been flogging a dead horse and Malaysia has been hesitant to bury the carcass, while Sabah has had to bear the stench. Since the grant is one in perpetuity, it can either continue in force or as the real alternative, the annual payment of 5,300 could be compounded and paid in a lump sum.

A settlement of this nature should be done confidentially by diplomacy and mutual trust. Once the compounded sum is agreed upon by all parties concerned, a joint statement could be made, the Sulu Sultan‘s heirs duly compensated and the Philippines and Malaysia could move on to more natural political, social, economic and cultural cooperation“ (1972 : 25).

Another interesting Thesis written by Filipino Scholar Ruben G. Domingo, for his Master of Science in Resource Planning and Management for International Defence Degree at Philippine Military Academy entitled “The Muslim Secessionist Movement in The Philippines issues and prospects (1995) reads “The Sultan of Brunei who originally ruled Sabah ceded it to the Sultan of Sulu in 1704 as a reward for helping suppress an uprising in his domain. In 1878, the Sultan’s successor Jamalul Azam leased the territory to William Cowie and Baron von Overbeck for 5,000 Malaysian Dollars.

Overbeck was then the Austrian consul at Hong Kong and former local manager of the British opium firm of Dent and Company. Whether the terms of the deal were, that Sabah was ceded or leased, would become the bone of contention between Malaysia and the Philippines. Soon after the agreement, the British North Borneo was formed and awarded a royal charter.

A treaty signed in 1930 by the United States and the British Crown circumscribed the future territorial jurisdiction of the soon to be established Philippines Republic. This treaty DID NOT INCLUDE SABAH within the boundaries of Spanish, American or Philippines jurisdiction. Then six days after the Philippines was granted independence, the British North Borneo Company turned all its rights and obligations to the British Government, which in turn asserted full sovereign rights over Sabah through the North Borneo Cession Order.

The first official Philippines act on Sabah issue was the adoption House Resolution No: 42 on April 28th, 1950. It states explicitly that North Borneo belonged to the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu. It also authorised the President to conduct negotiations for the restoration of sovereignty jurisdiction over the territory.

In the negotiations, the British rejected the Philippines position in view of the overriding need to for the Federation of Malaysia. When the Philippines institutionalised its claim through the enactment of the Republic Act incorporating Sabah as part of the Philippines, the Malaysians suspended diplomatic ties, which was only restored on Dec 16, 1969 in time for the third ministerial conference of the Association of South Asian Nations”.

In the forth coming East Asian Summit to highlight a zone of friendship and freedom involving Asean countries and China, Russia and the United States of America, the Philippines Government planned to submit a proposal highlighting that the country would claim any asset or territory belonging to them and the disputed claim on Sabah be negotiated.

In addition, It is more likely that the Philippines would assert its sovereignty over specific maritime territories in line Republic Act 9522, signed three years ago by former President Gloria Arroyo Macapagal to reaffirm the republic‘s sovereignty over the more than 7,100 islands in its archipelago including part of Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal.

The Spratlys is believed to be rich in oil, gas and fish, comprising about 100 barren islets, reefs and atolls, sitting along important sea lanes in the South China Sea, Vietnam, China, Taiwan , the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei each claim all or part of the low-lying islands.

Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, who was quoted as saying following his recent meeting in Manila that “the Sabah Claim issue is non negotiable”. In fact we are almost fed up with the Philippines problems in Sabah as they do not have a consulate here. I have clearly explained to the Philippines Government about our stand on their claim on Sabah, I said the issue is not our problem (but) actually their (Philippines) problem and believes that certain quarters among the Philippines official are stoking the claim despite Malaysia’s firm stand on the issue ” (The Daily Express Sunday January 22 , 2012)

We are proud to have an elected Sabah representative who is fully aware and understands his roles and responsibilities upon being appointed to lead the ministry in question comparable to his predecessors at the Federal level. This contribution is made specifically for the good of the State and Country especially as far as the Sabah Claim issue is concerned.

In summary, the final Green Light to set up the Philippines Consulate in the State would only be made feasibly once a bilateral understanding has been reached by the involving parties. The question now is how soon can we find the remedy or convincing solutions capable of burying the Sabah Claim issue once and for all?

How effective would the establishment of a Filipino diplomatic mission in helping the Malaysian authorities solving the controversial long stand issue of illegal immigrants hailing from the Southern Philippines in particular, when similar category of aliens are also found in massive numbers from other neighbouring country (Indonesia) despite the existence of its consulate in the State‘s capital?

The positive outcome has yet to be extensively gauged and justified when it comes to reality upon full scale implementation. If they could not act as the catalyst to the current social stigma infesting the State, but they help to soften the blow at the initial stage is considered suffice as an effective remedy that works on the long run.

Retrospectively, It is still fresh in the minds of every living Malaysian in Sabah to ponder upon the following significant occasions,

a) In Oct 1998, former Governor of the Autonomous Regions of Mindanao (ARMM) cum the Chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Prof Nur Misuari visited Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah bringing the message on the status quo of the Southern Philippines, which according to Misuari “is more peaceful now”.

He planned to take back an estimated 300,000 Filipinos from Sabah as their resources would be required to rebuild the southern region. Paradoxically, Misuari’s noble intention did not materialise due to certain unknown reasons, other wise his role would have help to reduce our authorities ’burden 14 years ago, thus partly solving the alien growing problems in the State from accumulating to the present statistics estimated to be in the range of over a couple of millions.

b) Our Government’s previous effort to deport Filipinos illegal immigrants back to their country of origin was kept on hold to a standstill during the crux of President Gloria Arroyo Administration, when she refused to accept them back with excuses that they did not have documents to prove their national identities as Filipinos, although it was very obvious that those illegal immigrants hailed from the Southern Philippines judging from the accent of their home native dialects, behaviours and characteristic etc.

The setting up of the Philippines Consulate in Sabah would therefore be necessary and would help a lot to solve cases of similar nature in the future.

Hence, we leave it to the wisdom of our government and the relevant ministry in question to search and formulate a long term solutions affecting the parties involved for the sake of Social, Economic and Political Cooperation within the Region of ASEAN member countries. - Sabahkini

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Sabah To Whom It Belongs?

What’s happening in Sabah? A hundred fully armed Filipinos are holed up in a remote coastal town since last Wednesday in order to press the claim of the Sultanate of Sulu and Sabah that Sabah belongs to the family of Sultan Muhammad Fuad Abdulla Kiram, the 35th De Jure Reigning Sultan. The Sultan is also head of the Sultanate & head of Islam in the Royal Hashemite Sultanate of Sulu and of Sabah. So we ask, are these people crazy or are they trying to recover what the Sultan of Sulu legitimately owns?

Here's the evidence of Leased Payment from Malaysian Government to the Heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu that is being leaked on the internet.

I’m glad that the Aquino regime is very cautious regarding the disturbing moves happening in Sabah these days. After all, it recently signed a framework agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), but as we already wrote before because they apparently left out the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) because they just don’t like Nur Misuari.

But since we are talking peace with the MILF, we must do the same for the MNLF despite Nur Misuari who during the 2nd MNLF Peace Summit on May 24, 2008 in Davao City, he, before the presence of the Sultan of Sulu and Sabah, Muhammad Fuad A. Kiram I, held a sword and vowed to work for the return of Sabah to the Royal Sultanate of Sulu by peaceful means. So the question goes back to the hundred armed men in Sabah: are they trying to recover Malaysia through peaceful means? That they are armed to the teeth makes us suspicious of their moves.

But if there is anything that the Aquino regime should avoid at all cost it is opening two fronts that could trigger a war with one of our ASEAN neighbors. It’s bad enough that we are having territorial problems with China in Scarborough shoal, which they are claiming as theirs from their past history maps. Let’s just hope this issue in Sabah can be diffused peacefully. With that said, we must also go back to history on whether the claim of the Sultan of Sulu and of Sabah is legitimate or not.

Some history books tell us that pre-Spanish Philippines were mostly inhabited by Muslims. This maybe true to most of Mindanao, but not to Cebu. If you recall, when Ferdinand Magellan’s Armada de Moluccas anchored off to what is now downtown Cebu City in 1521, he was greeted by Rajah Humabon. Ask yourselves, what country uses Rajah or Maharajah? Muslim kings are called Datus… but it was a Rajah that greeted the Spaniards because Cebu and the Visayas was part of the Sri-Vishaya Empire, which means our Cebuano ancestors had a Hindu, not a Muslim past.

If at all we’ve never found any peace in Mindanao, it is due to the fact that there are just so many unresolved issues that no one dared or cared to fix. While the Spaniards colonized much of the Philippine Archipelago, they really didn’t do well in Southern Mindanao, except in Zamboanga City.

Back in Jan. 22, 1878, Sabah then under Sultan Jamalal Ahlam Kiram of Sulu and Sabah were leased to a British company represented by Gustavus Baron de Overbeck of Hong Kong and Alfred Dent, Esquire of London for a princely sum (at that time) of $5,000 annually. Today Sabah under Malaysia pumps nearly one million barrels of oil per day in Sabah, which is estimated at $75 million per day. This does not include the other things that Sabah produces like timber, forest and agriculture products.

According to reports I’ve read, Malaysia pays the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu an annual rent of $1,500, which is far lower than what they got from the British… and peanuts if you consider the income Malaysia gets from Sabah’s oil fields. No wonder, Sultan Kiram I minced no words when he insisted that “The continued occupation of Sabah by Malaysia is illegal and it must end.” So the big question we ought to ask is whether we should help Sultan Kiram I recover Sabah from Malaysia. If it is ours, then we must.

What’s more interesting for us in the Philippines is that, then Sultan Muhammad Esmail Kiram who ruled as Sultan of Sulu and Sabah in 1947-1973, wrote and signed on Jan. 22, 1958 an “Instrument of Cessation” declaring the lease to the British Company since Jan. 22, 1878 as “terminated”. There’s more! On April 24, 1962, Sultan Esmail Kiram signed an instrument recognizing, admitting and accepting the ultimate sovereignty, title and dominion of the Republic of the Philippines over their North Borneo Territory without prejudice to the proprietary rights of the heirs of the Sultan Kiram.

On Sept. 12, 1962, the Philippines, then under President Diosdado Macapagal with Vice-President Emmanuel Pelaez formally accepted this instrument giving Philippine sovereignty to Sabah. But on Aug. 31, 1963, Malaysia was granted Independence by the British. So for all intents and purposes… we got Sabah first before Malaysia could be independent. So why is the Philippines ignoring this fact? That Malaysia pays its annual “rent” to the Sultan is proof that the Sultan’s claim is legitimate. There’s more on this.

-The Philippine Star

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History catches up with Sabah

FOR SEVERAL DAYS NOW, Manila’s broadsheets have been bannering the confrontation between followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and Malaysian authorities in a small town in Sabah.

Here's the evidence of Leased Payment from Malaysian Government to the Heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu that is being leaked on the internet.

Reports have it that some 300 armed followers of the Sultan of Sulu had traveled from Sulu in the southern Philippines to the town of Lahad Datu in Sabah to “reclaim their homeland.” The followers of the Sultan have refused to leave, claiming they have a right to be in a place that was historically theirs to begin with.

“Why should we leave our own home? In fact they (the Malaysians) are paying rent [to us],” the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Kiram as saying. The Inquirer story may be read here

For decades, the dispute over Sabah has alternately simmered or blown up, depending on the mood of whoever is in charge in Kuala Lumpur or Manila. Former President Marcos tried to raise an army of infiltrators to destabilize Sabah, but that caper ended in bloodshed with the Jabidah Massacre, resulting in even more bloodshed with the ensuing Moro rebellion. Presidents after Marcos either ignored the issue or delegated it to that process of systematically gathering dust called diplomacy. More recently, President Benigno S. Aquino III said the country’s claim over Sabah was just “dormant.”

While a lot of Filipinos know that North Borneo (now known as Sabah) has always been a point of dispute between the Philippines and Malaysia, few really know the roots of the dispute. Even fewer still know that the Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram III, has been receiving a yearly amount from the government of Malaysia in exchange for Sabah, or at least the use of it, depending on how one interprets the contract signed more than a hundred and thirty years ago.

Long before there was a Manila, or even a Philippines, the Sultanate of Sulu was one of the most powerful and influential governments in the region, with diplomatic and trade ties going as far as China. In the 1700s, the Sultan of Brunei was faced with a rebellion in Borneo, and sought the assistance of the Sultan of Sulu. In response, the Sultan of Sulu sent Tausug warriors to quell the rebellion. As a token of his appreciation for the assistance rendered, the Sultan of Brunei gave what is now known as Sabah to the Sultan of Sulu.

Fast forward to 1878 – the Sultan of Sulu signs an agreement with a private firm called the British North Borneo Company under Alfred Dent and Baron von Overbeck to allow the company the use of Sabah. This is where the difficulty arises. The British version of the contract says that the Sultan agrees to “grant and cede” North Borneo for the sum of $5,000 a year. The Tausug version of the contract says that the land was only being leased to the British North Borneo Company. Key to the dispute is the translation of the Malay word Padjak in the contract, which has been translated variously as lease, pawn, or even mortgage, depending on who does the translating and when the translation was done. Language, after all, also evolves over the years. If you take a stroll down Jolo these days, you will see a lot of pawnshops with the sign “Padjak.”

Sultan Jamalul Kiram (center) during the American occupation

Since 1878, the Sultan of Sulu and his heirs have been receiving this yearly payment (with an occasional break because of wars, changes in government, Â and other similar inconveniences), first, from the British North Borneo Company, and then after 1963, from the Malaysian Federation, which assumed jurisdiction over the contract from the by then defunct British North Borneo Company. These days, the annual payments given by the Malaysian Embassy in Manila to the Sultan of Sulu reportedly amount to P74-77,000, or roughly more than $1,800. Malaysia prefers to call the annual payments “cession payments,” in which case the payments would appear to be a perpetual fee for the ceding of Sabah to Malaysia. Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, for his part, has called the payments “rental,” meaning ownership of Sabah still rests with the Sultanate of Sulu, now of course a part of the Philippines.

But while ancient history may appear to be on Manila’s side, contemporary history is not.

When one visits Sabah, one easily comes across thousands of Filipino migrants, mostly Tausugs from Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. Sabah, after all, is just a skip and a hop away from Tawi-Tawi, and many Tausugs find more in common with the people of Sabah than the people in Manila. Long before modern governments started drawing lines on maps and calling them borders, Tausugs were travelling to and from North Borneo and laying their roots there. To them, Sabah was just “that next island over there.” In the port of Sandakan, Tausugs practically have the run of the town, and you can approach most anyone and try to converse with them in Filipino. While Malaysia tries hard to control the inflow of Tausugs through the immigration center in Sandakan, most Tausugs just take a fast motorboat or kumpit from the most southern parts of Tawi-Tawi. After all, you could already see the lights of Sabah from some islands in Tawi-Tawi.

In fact, when we visited Sandakan by ferry several years ago, we saw boats towing large rafts of timber from Tawi-Tawi to Sabah. Obviously, this trading activity was not going through customs.

As well, there are many Kampongs in Sabah that are populated by Tausugs, many of whom are either war or economic refugees. Kampong is the Malay word for community, much like the Philippine barangay.

Take note that we have been using the word Tausug to describe the migrants from Jolo and Tawi-Tawi; Tausug for many of them is not just the name of the tribe, but their political and cultural identity as well. Their association with this identity is much stronger than their association with the country they came from. Interestingly and alarmingly, we came across many who indignantly refused to be called Filipinos, and preferred to just be called “Tausug.” For them, the Philippines is a distant, even unfriendly memory.

But what was most striking was this: Many of the Tausugs we encountered detested the idea of the Philippine government reclaiming Sabah. Refugees from war and poverty, many of these Tausugs see little benefit in a Sabah under the Philippine flag; in fact, for them, it is a worrying proposition, not unlike jumping from the cliched frying pan into an even bigger fire.

The author backpacking through Sabah

One Tausug we encountered outside a mall in Kota Kinabalu bristled at the idea of the Philippines staking a claim on Sabah. “Sisirain lang nila ang Sabah. Okay na nga ang Sabah ngayon, guguluhin lang nila,” he said. [They will just destroy Sabah. Sabah is doing fine right now, they will just mess it up.]

It is hard to blame them for the cynicism. After all, they took great risks and fled their own troubled country in droves for a better life, only to have that same country reach out and stake a claim on what to them is already a virtual paradise where one can finally live and work in peace. That, to them, may be the ultimate irony, the ultimate tragedy. - source

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