KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia must break its "strange silence" on the Philippines claim to an extended continental shelf that encroaches on the country’s continental shelf and maritime territory, says Datuk Yong Teck Lee.
The former Sabah chief minister said the Philippines had, last week, filed an extension of their maritime territorial claim at the United Nations.
“The Philippines' latest extended claim includes the part of Malaysia’s continental shelf that lies to the northwestern part of mainland Borneo island, namely Sabah,” he said in a statement.
“That maritime territory belongs to Sabah arising from the colonial era Order in Council of 1954 by the United Kingdom,” said Yong.
He said when Malaysia was formed in 1963, the territory of Sabah was recognised as part of the territory of Malaysia, in accordance with Article 1(3) of the Federal Constitution as part of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
He said the Philippines government and media have made a big splash of their extension of the continental shelf but Malaysia has remained silent.
“Why? Malaysia’s silence on this latest Philippines claim to our Malaysian continental shelf can only serve to embolden the Philippines aggressiveness without due regard to the feelings of Malaysians,” Yong said.
He said the Philippines government had recently even gone to the extent of renaming the sea as the West Philippines Sea when there was no such thing.
He said this renaming of the South China Sea, which included Malaysia’s continental shelf, to the West Philippines Sea, gives the wholly false impression that the Philippines owns the entire body of that sea.
“In fact, this renaming to West Philippines Sea is both comical and farcical because the mere changing of the name does not in any way add weight to the Philippines claim to the sea,” Yong stated.
He said historically, the body of sea to the west of the Philippines has been given the name South China Sea by European seafarers and cartographers, because that body of sea lies to the south of China.
By historical fact, and under international law, there is no sea called “West Philippines Sea”, he stressed.
“None of the maps produced by the Philippines have ever mentioned the West Philippines Sea. That is until recently only as an afterthought,” Yong suggested.
He stressed that historical documents and international maps submitted by the Philippines to the UN have always used the name South China Sea.
“Is the Philippines government, under the cover of their dispute with China over the South China Sea, trying to sneak in their claim to part of Malaysia’s continental shelf and maritime territory?” he asked.
Yong said apart from the federal government, MPs from Sabah should speak up too, because they have the duty to openly defend and protect Sabah’s maritime territorial integrity.
“I strongly urge the federal government to make public Malaysia’s actions to counter and defeat any Philippines encroachment of our maritime territory,” he added.
