After a long absence, Sabah has resurfaced in the news after a United States Embassy tweet referred to the disputed territory as part of Malaysia. Naturally, that elicited a response from Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., who said on Twitter that Sabah belongs to the Philippines. His tweet snowballed, with Malaysia summoning the Philippine ambassador to Kuala Lumpur and with Secretary Locsin again tweeting that he would retaliate by also sending for the Malaysian envoy in Manila. Secretary Locsin followed up with a statement reiterating that the Philippines will not abandon its claim to Sabah.
The diplomatic row signals that now is the time to address the Sabah issue that has been a problem for Asean and for Philippine-Malaysia relations since 1962. Until Secretary Locsin’s tweet, many Filipinos have also forgotten that President Rodrigo Duterte had even promised to assert the Philippine claim during the 2016 campaign.
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