Sultanate of Sulu makes contact with US Department of State

The Sultanate of Sulu announced on Wednesday that it has made initial contact with the US Department of State in Washington, D.C. An emissary will hand-carry an official letter from Sultan Phugdalun Kiram II, seeking the endorsement of the US government—through Secretary of State Marco Rubio—to support the 2004 petition to the United Nations. The petition demands $25 billion in damages from Malaysia for the alleged illegal annexation of Sabah, despite the existing Carpenter-Kiram Treaty of 1915, which placed Mindanao, Sulu, and Sabah under American protection.

Abraham Idjirani, convenor of the Mindanao and Sulu Unification Movement (MSUM) and secretary-general of the Sultanate of Sulu, told the DAILY TRIBUNE in a telephone interview from Sulu that initial contact had already been made with the US State Department. He added that an emissary of the Sultanate would personally deliver the letter, which has already been signed by Sultan Phugdalun Kiram II.

"The emissary is scheduled to meet US state department officials the next Monday for possible audience with Secretary Rubio for the US endorsement of the petition,” he said.

Idjirani also stated that the Sultanate had sent an email through the US Embassy in Manila. The Department of Foreign Affairs would be furnished with a copy of the letter for their reference, but the primary objective is to invoke the 1915 Carpenter-Kiram Agreement, which has never been rescinded by the US Congress and remains in effect.

The $25 billion claim against Malaysia represents the estimated value of the exploitation of natural resources in Sabah after its annexation by the British. This occurred despite the existence of the Carpenter-Kiram Treaty, which placed Mindanao, Sulu, and Sabah under US protection.

The request for endorsement stems from the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) response that the Sultanate of Sulu’s petition should be referred to the United Nations General Assembly. The ICJ stated on 20 June 2004 that the case could only be deliberated if endorsed by the US, China, or the Philippines.

Philippe Couverous, ICJ registrar, responded to the Sultanate of Sulu in a letter dated 20 October 2024, a copy of which was obtained by DAILY TRIBUNE. He explained that Articles 34 and 35 of the ICJ Statute specify that such cases must be brought before the UN General Assembly rather than the ICJ.

"This is to inform you the provisions contained in Articles 35 ans 34 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo or the Bangsa Suluk Nation just need one nation to endorse its 2004 Petition for deliberations in the UN General Assembly," Couverous wrote.

The 2004 petition, submitted to then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, adhered to the principle of peaceful settlement. It sought the repossession of North Borneo (Sabah) from Malaysia’s occupation and demanded $25 billion in compensation for the use of its natural resources since the alleged illegal occupation in 1963.

However, Idjirani noted that while the Sultanate of Sulu had been previously incapacitated in asserting sovereignty rights at the United Nations, the current ruling family of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo—also known as the Bangsa Suluk Nation—will now seek the support of the US government under President Donald Trump. This request is based on the US's commitment under the 1915 Carpenter-Kiram Agreement.

“The filing of the Sulu Sultanate Petition in 2004 with the United Nations was to advance the vital interests, well-beings, and general welfare of people both its constituents and people outside its ancestral realm including inhabitants of Sabah," Idjirani said

He emphasized that Malaysia’s claim to Sabah was based solely on leasehold rights acquired by the British North Borneo Company in 1878. When the Federation of Malaysia was established in 1963, the late Senator Arturo Tolentino argued before the UN that these were lease rights, not sovereign rights.

Sultan Phugdalun Kiram II led the direct heirs to the Sultanate of Sulu, as named in the 1939 decision of the Session Court of North Borneo. This ruling identified nine direct descendants of the Sultanate who held proprietary rights over the disputed territory of Sabah.

On 11 October 1939, British Session Chief Justice Macaskie recognized the proprietary rights of Sultan Kiram’s heirs. He appointed Datu Punjaman Kiram as the administrator of the estate of North Borneo (Sabah) and named eight other heirs: Datu Ismael Kiram, Dayang Dayang Sitti Kiram, Dayang Dayang Sitti Mariam Kiram, Dayang Dayang Putli Kiram, Princess Tarhata Kiram, Princess Sakinur-in Kiram, Dayang Dayang Piandao Kiram, and Mora Napsa.

After assuming the throne Sultan Phugdalum led a delegation to met ancestral relatives in China to commemorate the  600 death anniversary of Sultan Pahara  who died and buried in Dezhou city, Shandong province in 1405 after signing an accord of alliance between the celestial empire of China (Ming dynasty and eastern Kingdom of Sulu