Explainer | What’s behind the revived dispute between Philippines and Malaysia over Sabah?

Philippine foreign secretary’s ‘Sabah is not in Malaysia’ tweet has prompted criticism from Kuala Lumpur and now both sides have summoned each other’s ambassadors

The decades-long row takes place even as both countries are working together to stamp out Islamic militancy in their shared waters

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Sabah state is rich in natural resources. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 9:30pm, 9 Sep 2019Updated: 4:11pm, 30 Jul 2020

The Philippines’ top diplomat has sparked a row on Twitter by asserting ownership over the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo, reviving a long-standing territorial dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbours.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jnr said on Twitter that “Sabah is not in Malaysia if you want to have anything to do with the Philippines”, reacting to a US embassy item describing the area straddling both nations as part of Malaysia.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, on his official Twitter account, said he would summon the Philippine ambassador in response to his Philippine counterpart’s tweet made on July 27.

“This is an irresponsible statement that affects bilateral ties,” Hishammuddin said. “Sabah is, and will always be, part of Malaysia.”

Locsin also said he would summon Malaysia’s ambassador.

“No country can tell another what it can and cannot say about what the latter regards as rightfully its own,” he said on Twitter. “I am summoning the Malaysian ambassador.”

In September 2019, Malaysia had issued a strongly worded statement to the Philippines after Locsin referred to Manila’s “claim” on the state during a congressional budget briefing.