The Philippines Sabah Claim — Why Manila Says Sabah Belongs to the Philippines
What is the Philippines Sabah claim?
The Philippines claims sovereignty over Sabah, or parts of it, based on the historical rights of the Sultanate of Sulu. The Philippine position rests on reading the 1878 agreement between the Sultan of Sulu and the representatives of the British North Borneo company as a lease rather than a cession, and on the Philippines having taken over the Sultanate's rights (Borneo Post, checked 7 October 2026).
Malaysia's position is that the 1878 agreement ceded the territory in perpetuity (Government of Malaysia, Sulu case timeline, checked 7 October 2026), and that the people of Sabah chose to join Malaysia through the Cobbold Commission process, later recognised by the United Nations (New Straits Times, 28 March 2026, checked 7 October 2026).
This is not an active military dispute. Malaysia administers Sabah, and the Philippines does not occupy any part of it. The Philippines has not formally withdrawn the claim, and it surfaces periodically in the politics of both countries.
What is the historical basis of the claim?
The Sultanate of Sulu was a maritime sultanate based in the Sulu archipelago, in the southern Philippines today, whose influence reached parts of northern and eastern Borneo.
In December 1877 Baron Gustav von Overbeck obtained grants of North Borneo from the Sultan of Brunei, and in January 1878 from the Sultan of Sulu (UPNM CDiSS commentary, checked 7 October 2026). The agreement with Sultan Jamalul Alam is dated 22 January 1878 (Borneo Post, checked 7 October 2026). The Malaysian government describes it as an agreement between the Sultan, Overbeck and Alfred Dent under which the Sultan ceded in perpetuity his land, territory and sovereign rights in North Borneo, for an annual cession payment it gives as RM5,000 (Government of Malaysia, checked 7 October 2026).
Under the 1885 Madrid Protocol, Spain gave up any claim to the Bornean territories that might have belonged to Sulu, in favour of Britain (UPNM CDiSS commentary, checked 7 October 2026). A Royal Charter was granted to the British North Borneo company on 1 November 1881, and North Borneo became a British Crown Colony on 15 July 1946 (Borneo Post, checked 7 October 2026).
Why did the Philippines formally claim Sabah in 1962?
The Philippines formally asserted its claim in 1962, while the plan to form Malaysia was under way (Borneo Post, checked 7 October 2026). A claimant to the Sulu throne had given President Diosdado Macapagal authority to pursue the claim (UPNM CDiSS commentary, checked 7 October 2026).
On 31 July 1963 Malaya, the Philippines and Indonesia signed the Manila Accord. In it the ministers took note of the Philippine claim and of the Philippines' right to pursue it under international law, agreed that North Borneo's inclusion in Malaysia would not prejudice the claim, and agreed to seek a just solution by peaceful means (UN Treaty Series, vol. 608, checked 7 October 2026).
After Malaysia was formed on 16 September 1963, the claim affected relations between the two countries. In February 1966 Malaysia and the Philippines exchanged notes reaffirming the Manila Accord, and in June 1966 they agreed to raise their consular offices to embassies (UN Treaty Series, vol. 608, checked 7 October 2026).
Did Malaysia and the Philippines ever try to resolve the claim?
Under the 1966 exchange of notes, both governments agreed to abide by the Manila Accord for the peaceful settlement of the claim and recognised the need to meet to clarify it and discuss ways of settling it (UN Treaty Series, vol. 608, checked 7 October 2026). No settlement has been reached.
The claim has come close to a court once. In 2001 the Philippines asked to intervene in the International Court of Justice case between Indonesia and Malaysia over Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan, saying the court's reading of instruments such as the 1878 grant could affect its claim to North Borneo. On 23 October 2001 the court refused the application by 14 votes to 1 (International Court of Justice, checked 7 October 2026).
The claim still surfaces in politics. In March 2026, after a Philippine senator called for the claim to be revived, Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said Malaysia would send a diplomatic note every time such statements were made, and described the claim as baseless (New Straits Times, checked 7 October 2026).
Both countries are members of ASEAN. Neither has taken the Sabah question to ASEAN or the UN for settlement.
What was the Lahad Datu intrusion of 2013?
On 9 February 2013, armed men began landing in batches at Kampung Tanduo, a coastal village in Lahad Datu district on Sabah's east coast. They were led by Agbimuddin Kiram, brother of the self-proclaimed Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III (The Star, checked 7 October 2026). The group was reported to number about 200 (Borneo Post, checked 7 October 2026).
After a standoff and deadly clashes, Malaysian security forces launched Ops Daulat on 4 March 2013 and had taken full control of Tanduo by 11 March; Ops Daulat itself ran until 29 June 2013. Ten Malaysian security personnel, six civilians and 56 intruders were killed, according to The Star. About 30 intruders and accomplices were charged with offences including waging war against the King, with sentences ranging from life imprisonment to death. Malaysia set up the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) on 1 June 2013 (The Star, checked 7 October 2026). A Bernama report puts the number of intruders killed at 68 and says the conflict was declared over on 10 April 2013 (The Sun / Bernama, checked 7 October 2026).
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III called on the Filipinos in Sabah to surrender, said there was no room for negotiation while they bore arms, and said people had conspired to bring about the situation (Borneo Post, checked 7 October 2026).
According to the Malaysian government, the intrusion led Malaysia to stop the annual payments it had made under the 1878 agreement (Government of Malaysia, checked 7 October 2026). That stoppage was the starting point of the Sulu heirs' arbitration claim.
| Year | Event | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 1877-1878 | Sultans of Brunei and Sulu make grants of North Borneo to Overbeck and Dent | Terms of the 1878 Sulu agreement remain disputed |
| 1881 | Royal Charter granted to the British North Borneo company | Company administers North Borneo |
| 1885 | Madrid Protocol | Spain gives up claims to Bornean territories in favour of Britain |
| 1946 | North Borneo becomes a British Crown Colony | Crown rule until Malaysia Day 1963 |
| 1962 | Philippines formally asserts its claim | Claim becomes Philippine government policy |
| 1963 | Manila Accord (31 July); Malaysia formed (16 September) | Claim noted; to be settled by peaceful means |
| 1966 | Exchange of notes and communiqué | Relations raised to ambassador level; Manila Accord reaffirmed |
| 2001 | ICJ refuses Philippine request to intervene in Ligitan and Sipadan case | No ruling on Sabah itself |
| 2013 | Lahad Datu intrusion | Ops Daulat; Malaysia stops the 1878 payments |
| 2022-2025 | Sulu heirs' USD 14.92 billion arbitration award | Annulled by the Paris Court of Appeal on 9 December 2025 |
What is the current status of the claim?
The Philippines has not formally withdrawn its claim, but it is not pursuing it through any court. Malaysia administers Sabah as one of its states and rejects the claim as baseless (New Straits Times, March 2026, checked 7 October 2026).
The most active legal fight in recent years was not between the two governments but between Malaysia and people claiming to be heirs of the Sultan of Sulu. According to the Malaysian government's case timeline (Government of Malaysia, checked 7 October 2026):
- January 2020: the Sabah High Court ruled that the 1878 agreement has no arbitration clause and ordered the claimants and the arbitrator to stop the arbitration.
- June 2021: the Madrid High Court of Justice revoked the appointment of the Spanish arbitrator, Gonzalo Stampa, for lack of proper notice to Malaysia. He moved the arbitration to Paris.
- 28 February 2022: Stampa issued a "Final Award" of USD 14.92 billion against Malaysia. Malaysia rejected it and applied in France to annul it.
- June 2023: the Paris Court of Appeal upheld Malaysia's challenge to Stampa's earlier partial award on jurisdiction, and the Hague Court of Appeal refused to enforce the Final Award in the Netherlands.
- December 2023: a Madrid criminal court convicted Stampa of contempt of court, with a six-month prison sentence and a one-year ban from acting as an arbitrator. The conviction was upheld on appeal in May 2024 and by the Spanish Supreme Court on 8 October 2025.
- 6 September 2024: the Supreme Court of the Netherlands dismissed the claimants' appeal, ending their enforcement attempts there.
- November 2024: the French Supreme Court dismissed the claimants' challenge to the ruling against the partial award.
- 9 December 2025: the Paris Court of Appeal annulled the Final Award in its entirety, finding that no valid arbitration agreement bound Malaysia, and ordered the claimants to pay Malaysia €200,000 in costs.
For Sabahans, the claim has little effect on daily life. Security on the east coast has been tightened since 2013 through ESSCOM.
How does the Sabah claim affect Malaysia-Philippines relations?
The claim has been a recurring irritant in Malaysia-Philippines relations without stopping cooperation. The two countries have had embassy-level relations since 1966 and are both members of ASEAN.
Tension rises when the claim is revived in public. The 2013 Lahad Datu intrusion was the most serious recent episode. Statements by Philippine politicians, such as a senator's call in March 2026 to revive the claim, draw diplomatic notes from Malaysia (New Straits Times, checked 7 October 2026).
The Sulu heirs' arbitration, which sought USD 14.92 billion from Malaysia and led to attempts to seize Malaysian state assets abroad, kept the history of the 1878 agreement in the news from 2022 until the award was annulled in December 2025.