KUCHING: After reports of thousands of islanders sailing to Sabah to reinforce the so called Sulu Royal Army, the Philippine Inquirer reported the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Philippines is closely monitoring the waters between Sabah and Sulu.
DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said the nation’s navy had deployed a number of ships to the area to jointly monitor with their Malaysian counterparts the movement of boats there.
He said this was to prevent the islanders from reaching Sabah and escalate the conflict. However, there had been no reports of people from the Sulu islands trying to sail to Sabah since the standoff began.
Yesterday, Habib Hashim Mudjahab, chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Islamic Council Committee had said that they could no longer prevent their people from going to help the followers of the Sulu sultan holed up in Lahad Dau.
He reportedly said that at least 10,000 islanders from Sulu and surrounding islands had set sail in small numbers and batches to Sabah.
Meanwhile, Philippine President Benigno Aquino was reported by Philippines media to be worried over the country’s relations with Malaysia and other Asean neighbours which had helped in the peace talks with the MILFand blamed Sultan and his followers over Sabah bloodshed.
“What’s happening in Sabah is wrong, so why do we have to support it?”
Aquino made the remark amid criticisms his administration mishandled the Sabah issue from which a standoff has escalated into a full-blown armed conflict between the followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III of Sulu and Malaysian security forces.
“What is the cause of the problem? Isn’t that their ancestors began it when they leased Sabah to the British? If they have a problem with the agreement, and if we are interested, then we need to talk about it in a peaceful manner.” he said.
Aquino also said Philippine had been dragged into the problem and it was his obligation to protect the interest of the majority of the Filipinos.