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Friday, March 29, 2024

Du30-Najib talks likely on sea row

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TERRITORIAL disputes in the South China Sea could be on the agenda when President Rodrigo Duterte meets with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak this week, a Foreign Affairs Department official said Monday.

President Rodrigo Duterte

Department spokesman Charles Jose said the dispute over territorial claims could be brought up, after Najib’s pronouncement that he is willing to settle the issue through bilateral talks with China.

Both the Philippines and Malaysia have territorial claims over South China Sea, as do Vietnam and Brunei.

Last week Najib followed Duterte’s decision to do a pivot to China and said he was illing to solve the maritime conflict through bilateral channels.

In a piece posted in \China Daily, Najib said the West should not lecture nations they once exploited, and said Malaysia is now looking to strengthen ties with China.

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Malaysia, one of the claimant countries, Najib said, declared its unity with China in agreeing on the need to “defend the sovereignty of the nation state and in the belief that the individual histories, values and governance systems of different countries must be respected.”

Malaysia’s statement on the South China Sea was the first since the Philippines filed its case before the Arbitral Tribunal against China’s nine-dash line claims.

At the same time, Jose said Duterte was prepared to discuss the Philippines’ claim to Sabah should it be raised.

During the campaign, the President had expressed his intention to back the Sulu Sultanate’s plan to retake Sabah from Malaysia.

“We are allowing proprietary heirs to talk (with Malaysia). Since it is part of our claim, it will be there as our land,” Duterte said. 

Three days after Duterte’s announcement, Malaysia said it would not entertain any claims by any party on Sabah. 

In a report by the Japan-based The Diplomat, Razak was quoted as saying “that Duterte should instead use his time more productively to help resolve the Moro insurgency than press the Philippines’ claim on Sabah.”

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