US keeps distance on Sabah row

But urges dialogue on disputed claims in South China Sea

MANILA (PhilAmPress) – While followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III are still battling it out with Malaysian security forces in Sabah, the US Embassy in Manila said the Americans are not inclined in anyway to get involved in the controversy.
US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas made the disclosure during a Security and Defense Kapihan sa Embahada last week with defense reporters and editors held inside the US Embassy compound.
“This is a matter between the government of the Philippines and the government of Malaysia, we pray for peace and we hope that anyone who has been displaced can be taken cared,” Thomas added.
Thomas also clarified that the Sabah row is not a matter of security for the United States.
During the same forum, Thomas reiterated an appeal to claimant countries in the South China Sea, which Manila calls the West Philippine Sea, to sit down and negotiate a peaceful resolution of their territorial disputes, InterAksyon reported.
Thomas said the US remains keen on its plan to “rebalance” its forces to Asia, which many see as an attempt to contain China’s growing strength.
Thomas said the South China Sea remains a vital economic lane through which “trillions of dollars of trade” passes, thus it is imperative that “sea lanes have to be opened to everyone.”
“We call on China and all other countries to act in a responsible manner, to work with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) to forge a serious code of conduct and to sit down at the negotiating table and do this in a peaceful manner,” Thomas said.
He also said the US pivot to Asia would benefit not only the Philippine military but the region’s economy as well.
“The rebalance or re-pivot to Asia is not about any one country. It is about the economic engine, becoming the economic engine of the world,” he said.
The US and Philippine military regularly hold joint military exercises as part of the Visiting Forces Agreement between the two countries.
This year’s Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises start on April 5.
He was responding to the plan of the Kirams to seek US help in resolving the matter under the Kiram-Carpenter Agreement which was signed in March 22, 1922.
Under that agreement, signed by US-appointed Governor of Mindanao and Sulu Frank W. Carpenter and the then Sultan of Sulu, the latter relinquished the sultan’s and his heirs’ right to temporal sovereignty, tax collection and arbitration laws.
In exchange, the Sultan got an allowance, a piece of land and recognition as religious leader.
According to the Kirams’ the US also agreed to give “full protection to the sultan of Sulu should the question of Sabah arise in the future between the sultanate and any foreign authority.”
“They can invoke this and seek assistance from the US, I can’t stop them but again as I said, this is not something we (should be) involved and we do not seek to be involved in anyway, we would never interfere in the sovereign rights of the Philippine government or try to tell President Aquino or (Malaysian) Prime Minister Najib how to resolve this challenge,” Thomas stressed.
“And we are very pleased however that that Framework Agreement (with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front) has not been affected and that’s why the talks will go on as scheduled and that shows that there is confidence between Manila and Kuala Lumpur,” the US official stated.
This developed as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reminded Filipinos of a presidential order directing government agencies to refer to Sabah just as Sabah and not Sabah, Malaysia.
Lawyer Roy Ecraela of the DFA Office of the Undersecretary of Special and Ocean Concerns said the directive is contained in Memorandum Circular No. 162 issued by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2008.
Ecraela issued the statement as different agencies met with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) to discuss humanitarian aid to Filipinos displaced by the conflict in Sabah.
During the meeting, a representative of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) referred to those displaced as the people who left “Sabah, Malaysia.”
This prompted an official from the Philippine Coast Guard to ask if government policy has already changed regarding Sabah, which the Philippines still has a claim on, according to a TV5 InterAksyon report. 
“Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, na lang. Tanggalin na ‘yung Malaysia (Let’s just call it Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Leave out the Malaysia.),” Ecraela said.
Ecraela said that the Supreme Court ruled in July 16, 2011 that the Philippines could still pursue its claim to Sabah, adding that the decision is separate and different from Memorandum Circular No. 162 and Republic Act 5446 or the Baselines Law.
During the same meeting, agencies agreed to call those coming back from Sabah as “displaced persons” and not evacuees or returnees.
As of March 23, a total of 3,693 Filipinos have arrived from Sabah, according to Ramon Santos, director of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.