The dispute with Malaysia over the historic claim of the Sulu Sultanate, backed by the Philippine government, to Sabah will not deteriorate the way it did with the West Philippine Sea conflict with China, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said in a recent interview in Kuala Lumpur.

The Malaysian leader said he is amenable to an amicable settlement of the friction.

Maintaining that he has a good personal relationship with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Anwar, nevertheless, indicated that he will not compromise Malaysia’s sovereign interest.

“(About) the Philippines’ claim over Sabah, the Malaysian government has made a firm statement that we will not compromise even an inch of our land and that we will never get involved in any negotiations involving the rights and sovereignty of our country,” he said.

“My personal relationship with Philippine President Marcos Jr. is such that he considers me a good friend,” according to Anwar.

“Therefore, we need to discuss matters amicably. But when it comes to national sovereignty and Sabah’s position within Malaysia, we will not compromise in defending it,” Anwar, who was in Sabah recently for a political convention, said.

“Our security forces should understand that history has proven that (the intrusion and) attacks like the one that occurred in Sabah a few years ago happened in unexpected circumstances,” he added.

On 4 July, Malaysia submitted a diplomatic note to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres firmly rejecting the Philippines’ move to define the legal outer limits of its continental shelf in the disputed West Philippine Sea.

The UN petition not only expectedly angered China but also sparked concerns from Malaysia and Vietnam.

Periodic flare-ups

The Sabah dispute has seen periodic flare-ups involving diplomatic notes, legal actions, and even armed incursions such as the Lahad Datu incident of 2013 when poorly armed supporters of the Sulu Sultanate sought to enforce an eviction notice on Malaysia.

In 2023, the Paris Court of Appeal nullified an earlier French court ruling that said the Sulu heirs, now considered Philippine citizens, were owed $15 billion after a breach of an agreement for rent payments to the Sultan’s family.

Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry in a statement reiterated the government’s position that Sabah has always been an integral part of Malaysia.

According to the statement, Sabah has been recognized by the United Nations and the international community as part of Malaysia since the formation of the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963.

While dormant, the Philippines has not relinquished its claim to Sabah.

The government asserts that it is part of Philippine territory under an ancient agreement between the Sultanate of Sulu and the United Kingdom when Malaysia was a British colony.

In 1878, the Sultan of Sulu, who owned Sabah, signed a “permanent lease” agreement with the British North Borneo Company, which the sultan’s heirs to this day interpret as a lease, while Malaysia sees it as a cession.

Malaysia, nonetheless, continued to pay rent to the sultanate which ended in 2013 after the failed invasion of Lahad Datu.

An annual “rent” of 5,000 silver dollars, which later became 5,000 ringgit or about P62,000 a year, was paid to the heirs of the sultanate per the 1878 agreement, which stipulated that the lease was “forever and until the end of time.”