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Malaysians Encircle Military-Clad Intruders From Philippines
Malaysians Encircle Militia Intruders From Philippines
(about 1 hour later)
MANILA — The Malaysian police and military are in a standoff in the eastern state of Sabah with at least 80 men dressed in military fatigues from the southern Philippines, Malaysian state media reported early Thursday evening.
MANILA — The police in Malaysia were in a standoff late Thursday -with at least 80 militiamen from the Philippines who were seeking to stay by right of historic claims on the island of Borneo, the police said.
The men arrived by small boats in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah on Tuesday, the Bernama news agency reported. The area is less than two hours by speedboat from the southern Philippines, where several violent rebel groups operate. There were conflicting reports as to whether the group was armed and linked to one of the rebel organizations.
The men, who arrived by boat Tuesday in Sabah State, on the Malaysian side of Borneo, said they were descendants of the leaders of the Sultanate of Sulu, an area ruled from the southern Philippines that in the 18th century included swaths of the island.
“In terms of strength, we have the upper hand in combat power to arrest them, but the government opts for negotiation to break the stalemate so that they leave peacefully to southern Philippines,” Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak told reporters on Thursday, according to the news agency.
Lahad Datu, the small village in eastern Malaysia where the men are, is less than two hours by speedboat from the southern Philippines, where several violent rebel groups operate. But Tan Sri Ismail Omar, the head of the Malaysian Royal Police, told reporters on Thursday that the men denied links to any militant organization in the Philippines.
Bernama reported that the police and the military have encircled the men by land and sea and that negotiations were under way.
The police chief said that the situation remained peaceful, and that negotiations to get the men to return to the Philippines were continuing.
“We do not want any loss of life and that is why we have asked them to go home peacefully,” the agency quoted the prime minister as saying. He added later: “Let the police negotiate with them and hopefully, it will bear fruit and succeed. This is because they cannot go anywhere, they have been surrounded. They have no choice and have to find a solution.”
Malaysia’s prime minister, Najib Razak, who was visiting Sabah on Thursday, told reporters that the group of men was surrounded, according to the Malaysian state news agency, Bernama.
Ricky Carandang, a presidential spokesman in Manila, said the Philippines was still trying to determine the facts of the situation and was in contact with security forces in Malaysia.
“In terms of strength, we have the upper hand in combat power to arrest them, but the government opts for negotiation to break the stalemate so that they leave peacefully to southern Philippines,” Bernama quoted the prime minister as saying.
The remote area where the incident is taking place is on the island of Borneo, in southern Malaysia, and is less than 150 kilometers from the southern Philippine province of Tawi Tawi, where several kidnappings have occurred in recent years, including the abduction of two European bird watchers in January 2012.
Ricky Carandang, a presidential spokesman in Manila, said the Philippines was trying to assess the situation and was in contact with security forces in Malaysia.
In the nearby Philippine provinces of Sulu and Basilan, the violent rebel group Abu Sayyaf has kidnapped and sometimes beheaded Filipinos and foreign visitors to the area.
The area where the standoff is taking place is on the Malaysian-controlled part of the island of Borneo, and is less than 90 miles from the southern Philippine province of Tawi-Tawi, where several kidnappings have taken place in recent years, including the abduction of two European bird-watchers in January 2012.
In 2000, members of Abu Sayyaf used small boats to cross into Malaysia and abduct 21 tourists from a Malaysian marine dive resort less than 100 kilometers from the location of the current incident. In 1985, 11 people were killed in a shootout between the police and gunmen from the southern Philippines who robbed a bank in the small town of Lahad Datu, where the incident is taking place.
In the nearby Philippine provinces of Sulu and Basilan, the violent rebel group Abu Sayyaf has kidnapped and sometimes beheaded Filipinos and foreign visitors.
The Philippines has a historic claim over parts of Borneo island and there have been border tensions in years past between the two governments. Problems have eased in recent years as border trade and tourism between to the southern islands of the two countries have increased.
The Philippines has a longstanding claim over parts of the island of Borneo, and there have been tensions in years past between the two governments.
