TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Duterte set to pursue Sabah claim

Germelina Lacorte (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN)
Davao City, Philippines
Thu, June 2, 2016

Share This Article

Change Size

Duterte set to pursue Sabah claim An aerial view of the Maliau Basin Conservation Center in Sabah. (The Star/ANN/-)

Philippine President-elect Rodrigo Duterte said he would stick to the government’s original position on the Sabah issue.

“I stick with the original position of the government, nothing has changed,” Duterte said in reaction to a statement by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak asking the incoming Philippine leader not to reignite the Sabah dispute.

“Yes,” Duterte said, when the Inquirer asked him on his government’s plan on the country’s claim over the oil-rich Sabah.

“But only through peaceful means. We don’t have the luxury of getting into trouble or another war, we just have to talk to everybody to develop our country,” Duterte said.

“We can’t afford to fight, let’s just talk, and I hope the Malaysians will understand,” Duterte said. “We will make clear to them what is going to happen,” he said. “If we file an actual case in [the international] court, and it is sure we will win, and yet, we don’t want trouble, so can we resolve this by other means?”

In a report by the Japan-based The Diplomat, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was quoted as saying on Monday during his keynote address before the Asia-Pacific Roundtable in Kuala Lumpur “that Duterte should instead use his time more productively to help resolve the Moro.

“That certainly would be more productive than reigniting the Sabah claim issue,” The Diplomat quoted Najib as saying.

Najib also urged the incoming Philippine government to implement instead the 2014 peace deal it had forged with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which Kuala Lumpur helped broker.

He said by implementing the deal, “we can help bring to a close a dispute that has cost so many lives, we would be honored to do so.”

Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman was quoted by Malaysian media as saying the Philippines’ claim was “irrelevant” as the issue had long been settled by the Cobbold Commission. 

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.