Marcos, Anwar seek in-depth talk on Sabah

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and Malaysia have agreed to hold in-depth discussions on their territorial dispute over Sabah, President Marcos said over the weekend.

In his vlog posted on YouTube on Saturday night, Marcos said the issue was brought up during his bilateral meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at Malacañang on Wednesday.

Anwar was in the country from March 1 to 2 for an official visit.

“We also discussed the issue of Sabah. As you know, we have a claim in Sabah that we say is in the Philippines. Now, they are the administrator of Sabah, so we said we need to discuss that thoroughly,” the President said in Filipino.

“Our foreign affairs secretaries will talk about what else we can do,” he added.

A French court ordered Malaysia in 2022 to pay $14.9 billion to the heirs of the Sulu Sultanate for its land lease violation dating back to 1878.

The Philippines maintains its territorial claim over Sabah based on the 1878 lease agreement between the Sultanate of Sulu and the British North Borneo Company.

In an interview with ANC last week, Anwar said Malaysia and the Philippines are taking a cordial approach to the territorial dispute over Sabah.

“Let it rest for a while, and there should not be an issue that easily provokes or causes antagonism because there are too many things in common,” Anwar said.

Sabah is located east of Malaysia’s northern Borneo and southwest of Philippines’ Sulu.

Former presidential spokesman Harry Roque had urged Marcos to “decide once and for all if the country’s position on Sabah remains a territorial claim of the Philippine republic or a proprietary claim of the Sultanate of Sulu descendants.”

Roque, an international law expert, said the Sultanate heirs’ legal victory bolsters the country’s claim over Sabah.

During his first State of the Nation Address in July last year, Marcos said he would not agree to any talks that would weaken the country’s sovereignty.

“On the area of foreign policy, I will not preside over any process that will abandon even a square inch of territory of the Republic of the Philippines to any foreign power,” the President said.