1963 MANILA ACCCORD: KEY TO AVOID WAR OVER NORTH BORNEO

"To honour the 1963 Manila Accord, which is United Nations Treaty 8029, is key to the legal resolution of the North Borneo/Sabah impasse. Kuala Lumpur must and should accept that a United Nations treaty is not something that Malaysia should scoff at. Ask yourselves this: "What good are bona-fide/international treaties if after signing them, the signatory countries refuse to recognise them and instead, discard them like toilet paper?" Honouring the 1963 Manila Accord is the key to avoid war over North Borneo."

Picture of the signing of the Manila Accord - UN Treaty 8029 on 31 July 1963 by (from left)  President Soekarno of Indonesia, President Macapagal of the Philippines and Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman of Malaya Federation (precursor to Malaysia Federation

By Anne de Bretagne
For the Sabah Claim Society
the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum
and the Defenders of the Philippine Sabah & Spratly Claims
17 June 2013 

 

ON 31st JULY 2013 IS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MANILA ACCORD*

THE ONLY LEGAL SOLUTION TO THE SABAH QUESTION IS TO HONOUR THE MANILA ACCORD. How? By pressuring Kuala Lumpur to negotiate with the Philippines. However, there is no way in hell that it can happen if President Aquino has put it in his head not to face the question head on or even just to raise - even with a gentle whisper - the 1963 Manila Accord with his great friend in Kuala Lumpur, the not-so-smart (but one who has outsmarted our benighted leader Noynoy at every turn), the one and only corrupt, the greedy Bumiputra Affirmative Action-BN leader, ta da da... Najib Razak, the son of the man who initiated the troubles in Mindanao and caused the Philippines to lose many of its sons and daughters in what was then called the Mindanao Secession Wars of the 70s...

In that UN Treaty - 8029 also known as the Manila Accord, signed on 31 July 1963 by President Macapagal of the Philippines, by future Malaysia Federation Prime Minister (then Malaya Federation) Tunku Abdul Rahman and by President Soekarno of Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur recogonises the validity of the Philippine claim to Sabah and accepts for the Philippine claim to be pursued. NO QUESTION ABOUT THIS!

One wonders why and how can Kuala Lumpur outwit us at every turn? Most of the 20 million Malayans (or Peninsular Malaysians as they are now popularly known) are not that smart, in fact, they are rather stupid, are terribly bone idle, but truly, one wonders how on earth they manage to outwit and outsmart 100 million Filipinos, many of whom boast of a certain degree of sophistication be it in education or in general culture!

The other solution is for Sabah to withdraw from the UK-engineered Malaysia Federation. There seems to be a trend towards this today but will all of Sabah agree? Not sure - Sabahans are just like Filipinos, they are easily conned by nice words, by good bribes and fight each other most of the time. They are rather laid back (understatement) so will take a bit of push from somewhere.

The ultimate solution, one might say, is war. But according to our benighted leader, that's out of the question and we agree with him. We not only do not have the material capability to go to war with Kuala Lumpur, it is also almost a certainty that most of our people will be anti such move. We have seen how PH reacted to the 'excursion' headed by SJKIII's brother - many of our politicians and their supporters almost peed in their pants when the Lahad Datu stand off happened... So let's say, that war is not an option.

If only we didn't have Sulu's Kiram 'intramurals' (the Kiram family bickering, the infighting, the 'faking' or the usurping of the title of sultan of Sulu by Kiram cousins, uncles, brothers, etc, etc, etc, with the help of fake or self-appointed "princes" to confuse the issue) which Malaysia is using to its great advantage, perhaps, things would be slightly different. The claim is further buried in the depth of the Sulu Sea day in, day out, by an extraordinarily weak and inept PH president, to say the least. Alas! The saying that "united we stand divided we fall' is, as always, true. 


*Now, here's Section 12 of the 1963 Manila Accord which we can not and should not poo-pooh...

Section 12 of the Manila Accord - UN TREATY 8029, signed by three heads of states before the creation of the Malaysia Federation namely, Soekarno of Indonesia, Rahman of Malaya and Macapagal of the Philippines, stipulates the following (highlight ours):

"12. The Philippines made it clear that its position on the inclusion of North Borneo in the Federation of Malaysia is subject to the final outcome of the Philippine claim to North Borneo. The Ministers took note of the Philippine claim and the right of the Philippines to continue to pursue it in accordance with international law and the principle of the pacific settlement of disputes. They agreed that the inclusion of North Borneo in the Federation of Malaysia would not prejudice either the claim or any right thereunder. Moreover, in the context of their close association, the three countries agreed to exert their best endeavours to bring the claim to a just and expeditious solution by peaceful means, such as negotiation, conciliation, arbitration, or judicial settlement as well as other peaceful means of the parties' own choice, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and the Bandung Declaration."

To honour the 1963 Manila Accord, which is United Nations Treaty 8029, is key to the legal  resolution of the North Borneo/Sabah impasse. Kuala Lumpur must and should accept that a United Nations treaty is not something that Malaysia should scoff at.  Ask yourselves this: What good are  bona-fide UN international treaties if, after signing them, the signatory countries refuse to recognise them and instead, discard them like toilet paper? Honouring the 1963 Manila Accord is the key  to avoid war over North Borneo. Kuala Lumpur must abide by the treaty.


~~~~O~~~~


Related blog post: Signing of the Manila Accord of 1963

Other links: 

• Post colonial history: British North Borneo/Sabah and the 1963 Manila Accord
• UN Treaties 

Operation Merdeka and its Filipino unsung heroes killed by Kuala Lumpur

"After nearly 50 years, it's time for the Philippine Republic and its government to be brave, to admit officially to the world that PH did plan to 'invade' Sabah -- and not to give a damn about what Kuala Lumpur might think or say, to open the "official" records and give due recognition to those 'unsung, under cover heroes' of the Republic, who had been embedded in Sabah and who were brutally tortured and murdered by Malaysia's dreaded ISA in the run up to the denunciation of Operation Merdeka, so that they may finally rest in peace! The Republic owes them that..."



 

By Anne de Bretagne
For the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum
for the Defenders of Philippine Sabah & Spratly Claims
and for the Sabah Claim Society
21 August 2015


The following, in a nutshell, is the "infamous" Operation Merdeka, i.e., Philippine plan to recover Sabah (before the plan was scuttled):

Operation Merdeka was originally the brainchild of President Diosdado Macapagal but its execution was organised by his successor, President Marcos. The plan was not to wage war against the Suluks in Sabah (Suluks are the Tausug inhabitants of Sabah) but only to create disturbance in Sabah. The initial purpose was to INFILTRATE Sabah by sending military trained Tausugs from Sulu to organise huge rallies, enormous rallies (much like what Putin did to Crimea) and to catch the Peninsular Malaysians by surprise... Noting the distance between KL and Kota Kinabalu, Marcos was banking on the element of surprise, i.e., that it would take Kuala Lumpur a great deal of time to scramble their fighters and by then everything would be over. Sabah would be under PH control.

Marcos had a squadron of the the Philippine Air Force which got ready to fly over Kota Kinabalu and other towns (in a bid to frighten whatever KL troops or sentries were there) while the infiltrated troops (Tausugs and their AFP military handlers) were occupying the most sensitive positions, hoist the PH FLAG atop every point, blast the announcement over loudspeakers all over Sabah towns... the PHIL AIR FORCE fighter aircraft then would fly over to signal that Sabah was retaken! THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OPERATION MERDEKA

But as ever, Murphy's military law played its hand: "Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong!" because Senator Ninoy Aquino, true to the Aquino clan mantra, would rather sabotage the plan against his own countrys interest to favour the Peninsular Malaysians -- God knows we know not why -- just as Senator Sumulong (his 'uncle-in-law) had done before him and just as his son is doing today.

And what the Filipino public hardly knows about is what happened after Operation Merdeka was denounced: Filipinos under cover, on mission for the  Republic were captured, ruthlessly tortured, killed, and are buried in the recesses of Sabah.

Understand that there were already hundreds of PH assets, military and para-military who had gone under cover and had infiltrated Sabah* (long before the so-called or the sensationalised "Jabidah-Corregidor Massacre" victims); they had already been sent to Sabah, had been lying under cover all over Sabah in preparation for the 'Operation' and who were caught in the quagmire in Sabah (North Borneo) after Sen Ninoy Aquino denounced the operation on the Senate pulpit.

Kuala Lumpur's intel agencies, led by Malaysia's dreaded ISA, moved with lightning speed, captured many of them, tortured and killed many, many of them -- impossible to determine today the number of Filipino para-military and military infiltrates in Sabah who were ruthlessly tortured and summarily executed unless we open PH Government records officially. A horrendous end for these Filipinos who were on mission for the Republic but who remain officially nameless today. They were Filipinos.

*NB: These Operation Merdeka assets had already infiltrated Sabah as moles, plants, sleepers, undercover agents, etc., long before the sensationalised "Jabidah Massacre" and were not the "Tausug trainees' referred to in the Corregidor-Jabidah Massacre episode exposed by Senator Ninoy Aquino and who were still being groomed precisely to join these assets that had already been embedded in Sabah. The embedded assets in Sabah fell victims to Malaysia's killer hands following the denunciation of the Operation in the Senate by Senator Ninoy Aquino.

Until today, many of -- if not all, those nameless PH casualties cannot be officially recognised by our government, cannot be given proper burial, or even just be given proper honours, because to officially recognise them as Operation Merdeka heroes, PH must admit to having planned and partly executed the invasion of Sabah and that just cannot be done according to PH government. So, today, there are many unsung heroes, casualties of this "silent, undeclared war", buried in Sabah without recognition from their government for what they have done in the name of the Republic. But Malaysia knows the crimes it has committed on these people in 1968 and knows that PH doesn't give a damn about them.

It's time to face what happened in Sabah after the scuttling of Operation Merdeka nearly 50 years ago to honour those Filipinos who were sent on a covert mission but never came back because they were captured, tortured and killed by Malaysia if only to give them proper burial.
  
After almost 50 years, it's time for the Philippine Republic and its government to be brave, to admit officially to the world that PH did plan to 'invade' Sabah -- and not to give a damn about what Kuala Lumpur might think or say, to open the "official" records and give due recognition to those 'unsung, under cover heroes' of the Republic who were brutally tortured and murdered by Malaysia's dreaded ISA in the run up to the denunciation of Operation Merdeka so that they may finally rest in peace! The Republic owes them that...

Sabah: Mourning a lost opportunity; PH should have gone with 'guns blazing'

In less than two weeks, PH will be mourning the 50th anniversary of the loss of Sabah to Malaya Federation... 

We had a lot going for us back then. We had in our possession the ultimate deed of transfer of sovereignty from the proprietary right holders of Sabah, we had a great defence force with highly trained and battle tested professionals and we had leaders with first class brains arguing for the Republic's right to receive full ownership of the domain. Indeed, there were many elements in our favour then even if we lacked the backing of a major ally and even as the Malaya Federation was being backed by its British masters... 

Could we have taken possession of Sabah 'legally' and diplomatically, i.e., through the UN, even without US backing? I don't think so. President Macapagal in all likelihood, the diplomat hors pair that he was known for, would not have approved of "going it alone." At the time, we would not have been bold enough to tackle the British in the UN without official US backing, our major trading partner, our masters so to speak whose policies we breathed and lived. True, President Macapagal could be stubborn as when he tweaked the US when he decided to change the date of PH independence but he knew that he could only go so far...

Now, as if the 'absence' of backing by a major ally was not bad enough, we also had in our midst then, a charismatic member of the Senate, an internationally famous ex-diplomat known for having flexed verbal muscles with Khruschev, who was fighting tooth and nail against the Republic's claim on behalf of the Malayans (and by extension, on behalf of the British) at a time when our own leaders were trying to hard to convince the British that they were wrong not to return Sabah to its rightful owners. He was the Philippines''Brutus' in the overall scheme of things. (His descendant is doing the same thing today.) I am convinced that 'Brutus' vitriolic assault on the Republic's claim gave Britain and Malaya the great excuse to say that because PH did not know what it wanted, they would be deciding the fate of Sabah. 

In hindsight, diplomacy and beautifully crafted words proved futile. We should have gone with guns blazing and physically battled to get Sabah back. It would or could have forced the great nations to stop and listen to us instead of allowing ourselves to keel over without a fight. If we had to lose, we would have had, at the very least, the satisfaction of having fought a battle that was worth fighting.

Today, we mourn the lost opportunity. Malaya, on the other hand, is jubilant. They not only have managed to steal Sabah from us and became extra-ordinarily rich, thanks to Sabah's resources, they have also kept us divided, and at war among ourselves in the South. However one may want to look at it, the Malayans have humiliated us into abject surrender. I am sure that their coup de grace will not be long in coming as they prepare to dismantle the Republic... 

But all is not lost! As ever, for as long as there is life, one must not give up! We may have lost a battle but not the war...

~~ Anne de Bretagne
for the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum
and for the Defenders of the Philippine Sabah and Spratly Claims
31 August 2013

President Macapagal’s State of the Nation Address, on the Filing of the Claim of Sovereignty over North Borneo 

28 January 1963  

Source: Extract from President Macapagal’s State of the Nation Address, delivered before a Joint Session of the Philippines Congress. Philippines Republic, Congressional Record, 5th Congress, 2nd Session, 28 January 1963, p.42  

The most important action taken in the field of foreign relations in the past year was the official filing on June 22, 1962, with the United Kingdom of the Philippine claim of sovereignty, jurisdiction and proprietary ownership over North Borneo as successor-in-interest of the Sultan of Sulu. 

We are gratified at the goodwill shown by the United Kingdom in holding the talks in London in pursuance of our note on June 22, 1962, in which talk an opportunity has been opened for a friendly scrutiny of the Philippine claim, taken with the security problems of South-east Asia.  

2. Contrary to allegation in some political quarters, this was not a precipitate action. We have personally studied this claim over a period of years. While serving in the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1946, upon a study of this claim in connection with our successful negotiation for the reacquisition of the Turtle Islands, we advocated the filing of this claim.  

3. In 1948, while serving in the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC, we went over the claim with an American expert in Anglo-Saxon law in George Washington University who sustained the view that this is a valid claim. When we served in the Congress of the Philippines, we successfully authored and sponsored in 1950, a resolution for the filing of this claim. Upon becoming President of the Philippines, acting on the conviction that this was not only a valid claim but that its presentation was demanded by the national interest, it became our inescapable duty to act on the bipartisan resolution of the House of Representatives on April 24, 1962, that the claim be filed now or never.  

4. The situation is that the Philippines not only has valid and historic claim to North Borneo. In addition, the pursuit of the claim is itself vital to our national security. We could not merely view the placing of North Borneo under Malaya, without presentation and consideration of our legitimate claim to North Borneo. Our claim to North Borneo cannot be less than the claim of Malaya to the territory not only on the basis of superior juridical and historical rights but in the vital interest of our national security.  

5. Malaya has no valid claim or right to take over North Borneo. Furthermore, if through arbitrary arrangement, the Borneo territory is placed under Malaya, the latter cannot likely insure for long the security of North Borneo for the free world. A profound and farsighted contemplation of the present and potential security posture in the whole region will conclusively support the judgment that the restoration of North Borneo as part of the territory of the Philippines would be the durable measure that could best insure against territorial disequilibrium and restlessness in the area and could constitute the firm and stabilizing factor to maintain and safeguard the security of the region.  

6. The project to place North Borneo, together with Brunei and Sarawak, under Malaya has already provoked a revolt in Brunei. It can be expected that Indonesia will not settle down accepting the authority of Malaya over Sarawak, Brunei and North Borneo. Moreover, the proposed Federation of Malaysia is not in accordance with the principle of self-determination, which is the accepted way out of colonialism, but appears to be a continuation of colonialism based only on an expedient of false security.  

7. It was imperative that the Philippine claim be, as it was made because if North Borneo was not to be by itself independent but was to be placed under another state there is no valid reason why, the legal and historic basis of the Philippine claim, and considering that North Borneo is contiguous to Philippine territory and vital to our security, the new State to be given jurisdiction over North Borneo should not be the Philippines.  

8. It is vital to the security of the Philippines that North Borneo be not placed under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of another State, particularly a state on the Asian mainland like Malaya. In the event, God forbid, that Malaya succumbs to the potent communist threat on the Asian mainland, with North Borneo under Malaya, there would be created a situation in which a communist territory would be immediately at the southern frontier of the Philippines, which would pose a grave and intolerable threat to our country. Against such threat, we know that our people will fight to the death, for they will rather die fighting for freedom than live in slavery.  

PRINCIPLE OF SELF-DETERMINATION  

9. In laying claim to North Borneo in pursuance of the legal and historic rights and the security interest of the Philippines, we recognize the cardinal principle of self-determination of which the Philippines has been a steadfast adherent. In the prosecution of our valid claim, it is agreeable to us that at an appropriate time the people of North Borneo should be given an opportunity to determine whether they would wish to be independent or whether they would wish to be part of the Philippines or be placed under another state. Such referendum, however, should be authentic and bona fide by holding it under conditions, preferably supervised by the United Nations, that would insure effective freedom to the people of North Borneo to express their true and enlightened will.  

 Admin's NOTE: Thanks go to Filipina Maharlika for the President Diosdado Macapagal State of the Nation Speech document. Filipina Maharlika is one of the founding members of the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum.

• Link to extract from President D Macapagal's State of the Nation Address on the Republic's filing of sovereignty claim to Sabah (Philippine Sabah Claim Forum) 
• Photos: 
• President Macapagal with Indonesia's Soekarno and Malaya Federation's Tunku Abdul Rahman on the signing of the Manila Accord.
• President Macapagal with then Senate President Marcos. Both played pivotal roles in the Republic's sovereignty claim to Sabah. 

Malaysia must honour Manila Accord of 1963 or be forever damned

Signing of Manila Accord 1963, on 31st July 1963 in Manila
before the creation of the MALAYSIA Federation
Signatories were President Suharto of Indonesia, President Macapagal of the Philippines
and Tunku Abdul Rahman of  then Malaya Federation

The signing of the 1963 Manila Accord, registered with the United Nations as treaty number 8029, whereby then Malaya Federation Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman agreed that the Philippine Sabah claim would not be extinguished by the then to-be-created Malaysia Federation which was to be created later on or on 16th September 1963.  

Paragraph 12 of the 1963 Manila Accord which was approved and signned by the three signatories stipulates:


12. The Philippines made it clear that its position on the inclusion of North 
Borneo in the Federation of Malaysia is subject to the final outcome of the 
Philippine claim to North Borneo. The Ministers took note of the Philippine 
claim and the right of the Philippines to continue to pursue it in accordance 
with international law and the principle of the pacific settlement of disputes. 
They agreed that the inclusion of North Borneo in the Federation of Malaysia 
would not prejudice either the claim or any right thereunder. Moreover, 
in the context of their close association, the three countries agreed to exert 
their best endeavours to bring the claim to a just and expeditious solution by 
peaceful means, such as negotiation, conciliation, arbitration, or judicial 
settlement as well as other peaceful means of the parties' own choice, in 
conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and the Bandung Declara 
tion.

BUT Malaysia now refuses to honour Manila Accord and has changed its national doctrine: "Better to lose national honour than to lose Sabah."

In a way, we understand why they now renege on the agreement. Malaysia has never really understood the meaning of 'national honour' since they have never ever had to fight for it. The Brits, the Aussies, the Indians, the Chinese, the Gurkhas have always had to do the fighting to save Malaya's so-caled 'national honour'.

Be that it may, it behooves the Government of the Republic led by no less than the benighted President NoyNoy Aquino to whip up this agreement and pressure Malaysia to honour it. Aquino has got everything in hand to win the case and so we are surprised why he is hell bent on wanting to lose it. But what is stopping him from doing it? Big question mark indeed!

~~ AdB
For the Defenders of the Philippine Sabah and Spratly Claims
15 April 2013

Related blog post: United Nations Treaties No. 8029, Manila Accord of 1963

Link to original treaty: UN Treaty 8029 Manila Accord 1963

Recommended read: Malaysian writer's Sabah solution: Re-visit the Manila Accord