Territorial Dispute with Malaysia-Philippines

The Malaysian-Philippines territorial dispute, also known as the North Borneo

dispute was a result of the Sulu Sultanates division. The British gaining
control of Northern Borneo, while the remainder of the Sulu land fell under
Spanish rule, and then subsequently to the United States of America. The
problem at hand refers to the state of Sabah, which both parties lay claim on,
Malaysia because of the Sabahs vote on joining the Malaysian federation,
and Philippines, because of their presentation as the successor state of Sulu.
Because of the connections between people living on both sides of the
border, illegal immigration, incidents of cross border raiding and kidnappings
have become a commonplace.
The North Borneo dispute refers to the dispute between Malaysia and the
Philippines over eastern Sabah. Prior to the foundation of the Malaysian
Federation, Sabah was known as North Borneo, and was under the rule of the
Sultanate of Sulu. The Sultanate of Sulu was dissolved in 1915, and as
previously stated, was separated into sectors. The British had control over
North Borneo, whilst the Spanish had initial control over the remaining Sulu
land. The Philippines presents itself as the successor state of the Sultanate of
Sulu, and has preserved a dormant claim over Sabah on the claim that the
land was only leased to the British. Malaysia, however, believes that the
dispute is futile, as the residents of Sabah had willingly joined the Malaysian
Federation in 1963.
The North Borneo dispute has been presented to the United Nations multiple
times, such as at the Manila Summit, the problem is still persisting. Since the
United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution Number 1514 in
December 1960 on the Declaration of the Granting of Independence to
Colonial Countries and Peoples, Great Britain had handed North Borneo over
to the Malaysian Federation. The ICJ had taken up the case regarding the
dispute, and it had ruled in favor of Sabah being part of Malaysia. The United
Nations does recognize Malaysia as being compromised of the Peninsula,
Sabah, and Sarawak. If Malaysia were to agree to bring the matter to court
again, that means that the claim made by the Philippines would be
acknowledged.

The China-Philippines dispute in the East Sea

The dispute is characterized by diplomatic stalemate and the employment of

low-level military pressure techniques (such as military occupation of
disputed territory) in the advancement of national territorial claims. All
except Brunei occupy some of the maritime features.
Most of the "maritime features" in this area have at least six names: The
"International name", usually in English; the "Chinese name", sometimes
different for PRC and ROC, (and also in different character-sets); the
Vietnamese, Philippine and Malaysian names, and also, there are alternate
names, (e.g. Spratly Island is also known as Storm Island), and sometimes
names with "colonial" origins (French, Portuguese, Spanish, British, etc.). No
doubt the Japanese also named features during their occupation / control of
the islands during World War II.
The Spratly Islands are important for economic and strategic reasons. The
Spratly area holds potentially significant, but largely unexplored, reserves
of oil and natural gas; it is a productive area for world fishing; it is one of the
busiest areas of commercial shipping traffic; and surrounding countries
would get an extended continental shelf if their claims were recognized. In
addition to economic incentives, the Spratlys sit astride major maritime trade
routes to Northeast Asia, giving them added significance as positions from
which to monitor maritime activity in the South China Sea and to potentially
base and project military force from. In 2014, China drew increased
international attention due to its dredging activities within the Spratlys,
amidst speculation it is planning to further develop its military presence in
the area. Only China (PRC), Taiwan (ROC), and Vietnam have made claims
based on historical sovereignty of the islands. The Philippines, however,
claims part of the area as its territory under UNCLOS, an agreement parts of
which

[3]

dispute.

have been ratified by the countries involved in the Spratly islands