The years-long dispute over the&nbsp;Malaysian state of Sabah, on the island of Borneo, has been revived again by a top diplomat of the Philippines.

The Twitter debate started when the US embassy in the Philippines tweeted a reply to the USADI Philippines.

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.<a href="https://twitter.com/usaid_manila?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@usaid_manila</a> donated 500 hygiene kits to the <a href="https://twitter.com/dswdserves?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dswdserves</a> Region IX for use by returning Filipino repatriates from Sabah, Malaysia who arrived in Zamboanga City and Bongao, Tawi Tawi. <a href="https://t.co/SdnDPkcaV2">https://t.co/SdnDPkcaV2</a> <a href="https://t.co/0Yfagr8quK">pic.twitter.com/0Yfagr8quK</a>
— U.S. Embassy in the Philippines (@USEmbassyPH) <a href="https://twitter.com/USEmbassyPH/status/1287711922259984384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jnr took to twitter to reply to this tweet and replied, "Sabah is not in Malaysia if you want to have anything to do with the Philippines."

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Sabah is not in Malaysia if you want to have anything to do with the Philippines. <a href="https://t.co/dWZs1gsndE">https://t.co/dWZs1gsndE</a>
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) <a href="https://twitter.com/teddyboylocsin/status/1287717011427033088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The tweet was not appreciated by the masses, especially the Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein who announced on Twitter that he would&nbsp;summon the Philippine ambassador on Monday in response to his Locsin's tweet.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/malaysias-former-pm-najib-razak-found-guilty-on-a-charge-of-abuse-of-power-316416">Also read:&nbsp;Malaysia's former PM Najib Razak found guilty on a charge of abuse of power</a>

“This is an irresponsible statement that affects bilateral ties,” Hishammuddin said. “Sabah is, and will always be, part of Malaysia.”

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This is an irresponsible statement that affects bilateral ties. <a href="https://twitter.com/MalaysiaMFA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MalaysiaMFA</a> will summon the Philippines Ambassador on Monday to explain. Sabah is, and will always be, part of Malaysia. <a href="https://t.co/KcUnDxOySl">https://t.co/KcUnDxOySl</a>
— Hishammuddin Hussein 🇲🇾 (@HishammuddinH2O) <a href="https://twitter.com/HishammuddinH2O/status/1288455932653887489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2020</a></blockquote>
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“No country can tell another what it can and cannot say about what the latter regards as rightfully its own,” he said on Twitter. “I am summoning the Malaysian ambassador.”

For more than six decades, Sabah has been a point of debate between the two countries.

Explaining his statement, Locsin cleared by saying that&nbsp;he did not ask&nbsp;on China retracting its statements concerning the Philippines’ arbitral award over its waters in the South China Sea. “It is free to say what it wants while we say and do what needs doing. That holds for Sabah,” he said.

Back in 1878, the sultans of the state of Sulu, who ruled Sabah signed an agreement in which they handed over the territory to British colonialists. However, the Philippines argue that the deal was of a lease, and not a full cession of the territory to them. After World War II, the Borneo state fell under British control and joined the Malaysian federation in 1963.

While the debate of claim on Sabah has been going on since decades, it was back in 2013 when hundreds of&nbsp;Filipino followers&nbsp;claim sovereignty claiming to be descendants of Sulu empire.

The years-long dispute over the Malaysian state of Sabah, on the island of Borneo, has been revived again by a top diplomat of the Philippines. The Twitter debate started when the US embassy in the Philippines tweeted a reply to the USADI Philippines.

The years-long dispute over the Malaysian state of Sabah, on the island of Borneo, has been revived again by a top diplomat of the Philippines. The Twitter debate started when the US embassy in the Philippines tweeted a reply to the USADI Philippines. .@usaid_manila donated 500 hygiene kits to the @dswdserves Region IX for use by returning Filipino repatriates from Sabah, Malaysia who arrived in Zamboanga City and Bongao, Tawi Tawi. https://t.co/SdnDPkcaV2 pic.twitter.com/0Yfagr8quK — U.S. Embassy in the Philippines (@USEmbassyPH) July 27, 2020 × The Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jnr took to twitter to reply to this tweet and replied, "Sabah is not in Malaysia if you want to have anything to do with the Philippines." Sabah is not in Malaysia if you want to have anything to do with the Philippines. https://t.co/dWZs1gsndE — Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) July 27, 2020 × The tweet was not appreciated by the masses, especially the Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein who announced on Twitter that he would summon the Philippine ambassador on Monday in response to his Locsin's tweet. Also read: Malaysia's former PM Najib Razak found guilty on a charge of abuse of power “This is an irresponsible statement that affects bilateral ties,” Hishammuddin said. “Sabah is, and will always be, part of Malaysia.” This is an irresponsible statement that affects bilateral ties. @MalaysiaMFA will summon the Philippines Ambassador on Monday to explain. Sabah is, and will always be, part of Malaysia. https://t.co/KcUnDxOySl — Hishammuddin Hussein 🇲🇾 (@HishammuddinH2O) July 29, 2020 × “No country can tell another what it can and cannot say about what the latter regards as rightfully its own,” he said on Twitter. “I am summoning the Malaysian ambassador.” For more than six decades, Sabah has been a point of debate between the two countries. Explaining his statement, Locsin cleared by saying that he did not ask on China retracting its statements concerning the Philippines’ arbitral award over its waters in the South China Sea. “It is free to say what it wants while we say and do what needs doing. That holds for Sabah,” he said. Back in 1878, the sultans of the state of Sulu, who ruled Sabah signed an agreement in which they handed over the territory to British colonialists. However, the Philippines argue that the deal was of a lease, and not a full cession of the territory to them. After World War II, the Borneo state fell under British control and joined the Malaysian federation in 1963. While the debate of claim on Sabah has been going on since decades, it was back in 2013 when hundreds of Filipino followers claim sovereignty claiming to be descendants of Sulu empire.

Philippines, Malaysia revive decades-long dispute on Twitter over ownership of Sabah

Tens of thousands have been forced from their homes by a tropical storm that battered the southern Philippines leaving at least 182 dead, police and aid agencies said Sunday.

Tropical storm Tembin, which triggered flash floods and mudslides as it lashed the nation&#39;s second-largest island of Mindanao, has displaced more than 70,000 people, said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

&quot;People left everything behind when they fled for their lives,&quot; the IFRC&#39;s Philippines operations and programmes manager Patrick Elliott said in a statement.

The Philippines is pummelled by 20 major storms each year on average, many of them deadly. But Mindanao, home to 20 million people, is rarely hit.

Police said 153 people were still missing and more than 40,000 had fled to evacuation camps as Tembin, which slammed into the island on Friday, continued westwards.

Police, soldiers and volunteers used shovels to dig through mud and debris as they searched for bodies in the village of Dalama on Saturday.

&quot;The river rose and most of the homes were swept away. The village is no longer there,&quot; police officer Gerry Parami told AFP by telephone from nearby Tubod town in Lanao del Norte, one of the provinces hardest hit by Tembin.

Local police said 127 people have been confirmed dead in the province, with 72 missing, as rescuers pulled dozens of bodies from the swollen Salog River near the town of Sapad.

The bodies had been swept downriver from a flooded town upstream called Salvador, Rando Salvacion, the Sapad town police chief, told AFP. Authorities in Salvador said other bodies were retrieved upstream.

&quot;The people received ample warnings. But as we are rarely hit by typhoons, people living near rivers did not take them seriously,&quot; Salvador police chief Wilson Mislores told AFP.

&#39;Unfortunate&#39; so near Christmas 
The death toll for Mindanao&#39;s Zamboanga peninsula also rose to 28, and police said 81 people were missing after mud and rocks swept down coastal communities in Sibuco and other fishing towns.

Landslides had blocked rescue and relief convoys to the impoverished region, officials said Saturday.

One man was killed by a crocodile while he was securing his boat as the storm closed in this week on the western island of Palawan, a police report said Saturday.

The storm hit Balabac, a fishing island of 40,000 people in the western Philippines, on Saturday afternoon with gusts of 145 kilometres (71 miles) an hour, the state weather service said.

Tembin struck less than a week after Tropical Storm Kai-Tak left 54 dead and 24 missing in the central Philippines, straining the disaster-prone nation&#39;s resources.

&quot;It is unfortunate that another tropical cyclone... made its presence felt so near Christmas,&quot; Harry Roque, President Rodrigo Duterte&#39;s spokesman, said in a statement.

Roque vowed continued government aid to the affected communities, but Romina Marasigan, spokeswoman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, described the situation as &quot;challenging&quot;.

The deadliest typhoon to hit the country was Haiyan, which killed thousands and destroyed entire towns in heavily populated areas of the central Philippines in November 2013.

Tropical storm Tembin has displaced more than 70,000 people, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said

Tens of thousands have been forced from their homes by a tropical storm that battered the southern Philippines leaving at least 182 dead, police and aid agencies said Sunday. Tropical storm Tembin, which triggered flash floods and mudslides as it lashed the nation's second-largest island of Mindanao, has displaced more than 70,000 people, said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). "People left everything behind when they fled for their lives," the IFRC's Philippines operations and programmes manager Patrick Elliott said in a statement. The Philippines is pummelled by 20 major storms each year on average, many of them deadly. But Mindanao, home to 20 million people, is rarely hit. Police said 153 people were still missing and more than 40,000 had fled to evacuation camps as Tembin, which slammed into the island on Friday, continued westwards. Police, soldiers and volunteers used shovels to dig through mud and debris as they searched for bodies in the village of Dalama on Saturday. "The river rose and most of the homes were swept away. The village is no longer there," police officer Gerry Parami told AFP by telephone from nearby Tubod town in Lanao del Norte, one of the provinces hardest hit by Tembin. Local police said 127 people have been confirmed dead in the province, with 72 missing, as rescuers pulled dozens of bodies from the swollen Salog River near the town of Sapad. The bodies had been swept downriver from a flooded town upstream called Salvador, Rando Salvacion, the Sapad town police chief, told AFP. Authorities in Salvador said other bodies were retrieved upstream. "The people received ample warnings. But as we are rarely hit by typhoons, people living near rivers did not take them seriously," Salvador police chief Wilson Mislores told AFP. 'Unfortunate' so near Christmas The death toll for Mindanao's Zamboanga peninsula also rose to 28, and police said 81 people were missing after mud and rocks swept down coastal communities in Sibuco and other fishing towns. Landslides had blocked rescue and relief convoys to the impoverished region, officials said Saturday. One man was killed by a crocodile while he was securing his boat as the storm closed in this week on the western island of Palawan, a police report said Saturday. The storm hit Balabac, a fishing island of 40,000 people in the western Philippines, on Saturday afternoon with gusts of 145 kilometres (71 miles) an hour, the state weather service said. Tembin struck less than a week after Tropical Storm Kai-Tak left 54 dead and 24 missing in the central Philippines, straining the disaster-prone nation's resources. "It is unfortunate that another tropical cyclone... made its presence felt so near Christmas," Harry Roque, President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman, said in a statement. Roque vowed continued government aid to the affected communities, but Romina Marasigan, spokeswoman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, described the situation as "challenging". The deadliest typhoon to hit the country was Haiyan, which killed thousands and destroyed entire towns in heavily populated areas of the central Philippines in November 2013.

Philippines storm leaves 182 dead, tens of thousands displaced

Seven Indonesian sailors have been taken hostage in the Sulu Sea in the southern Philippines, Indonesia&#39;s foreign minister said today. 
 
The incident was the latest in a string of abductions in the waters between the two Southeast Asian neighbours. 
 
Indonesian authorities have voiced concerns that piracy in the Sulu Sea area, a major sea traffic lane for the world&#39;s top thermal coal exporter, could reach levels previously seen in Somalia. 
 
&quot;The kidnap happened twice on the Sulu Sea on June 20, 2016. The first incident happened at around 11:30 am local time, and the second at around 12:45 pm local time, by two different armed groups. The boats were carrying a total of 13 sailors, seven of them were taken away and six were freed,&quot; said Retno Marsudi, Indonesia&#39;s foreign minister. 
 
Six of the 13 crew on board were freed, Marsudi said, and were on their way back to Indonesia. 
 
&quot;The government of Indonesia condemn strongly on yet another kidnap of our nationals by the armed groups in southern Philippines. This third incident is not tolerable,&quot; said Marsudi. 
 
Analysts say $40 billion worth of cargo passes through those waters a year, including supertankers from the Indian Ocean that cannot use the crowded Malacca Strait. 
 
Up to 18 Indonesians and Malaysians were kidnapped in three attacks on tugboats earlier this year in Philippine waters by groups suspected of ties to the Abu Sayyaf militant network. All 14 Indonesian citizens were later released. 
 
Indonesia urged its neighbouring country to take action to maintain peace. 
 
&quot;Indonesian government urges the Philippines government to ensure peace around the waters in southern Philippines, so that it will not affect the economy activities in the area. In relation to this, Indonesian government is ready work with our counterpart,&quot; said Marsudi. 
 
The Philippine military has said the militants have been targeting foreign crew of slow-moving tugboats because they can no longer penetrate resorts and coastal towns in Malaysia&#39;s eastern Sabah state due to increased security. 
 
The rise of sea hijackings prompted Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia to agree last month to carry out coordinated patrols to secure the region&#39;s busy waterways. 
 
However, coordinated patrols are yet to get underway. 
 
Abu Sayyaf, known for amassing tens of millions of dollars from kidnappings, has beheaded two Canadian nationals in recent weeks after ransom deadlines passed. 
 
The group is still holding Malaysian seamen and Japanese, Dutch, Norwegian, and Philippine citizens. 
 
(Reuters)

Indonesian authorities say that piracy in the Sulu Sea area could reach levels previously only seen in Somalia

Seven Indonesian sailors have been taken hostage in the Sulu Sea in the southern Philippines, Indonesia's foreign minister said today. The incident was the latest in a string of abductions in the waters between the two Southeast Asian neighbours. Indonesian authorities have voiced concerns that piracy in the Sulu Sea area, a major sea traffic lane for the world's top thermal coal exporter, could reach levels previously seen in Somalia. "The kidnap happened twice on the Sulu Sea on June 20, 2016. The first incident happened at around 11:30 am local time, and the second at around 12:45 pm local time, by two different armed groups. The boats were carrying a total of 13 sailors, seven of them were taken away and six were freed," said Retno Marsudi, Indonesia's foreign minister. Six of the 13 crew on board were freed, Marsudi said, and were on their way back to Indonesia. "The government of Indonesia condemn strongly on yet another kidnap of our nationals by the armed groups in southern Philippines. This third incident is not tolerable," said Marsudi. Analysts say $40 billion worth of cargo passes through those waters a year, including supertankers from the Indian Ocean that cannot use the crowded Malacca Strait. Up to 18 Indonesians and Malaysians were kidnapped in three attacks on tugboats earlier this year in Philippine waters by groups suspected of ties to the Abu Sayyaf militant network. All 14 Indonesian citizens were later released. Indonesia urged its neighbouring country to take action to maintain peace. "Indonesian government urges the Philippines government to ensure peace around the waters in southern Philippines, so that it will not affect the economy activities in the area. In relation to this, Indonesian government is ready work with our counterpart," said Marsudi. The Philippine military has said the militants have been targeting foreign crew of slow-moving tugboats because they can no longer penetrate resorts and coastal towns in Malaysia's eastern Sabah state due to increased security. The rise of sea hijackings prompted Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia to agree last month to carry out coordinated patrols to secure the region's busy waterways. However, coordinated patrols are yet to get underway. Abu Sayyaf, known for amassing tens of millions of dollars from kidnappings, has beheaded two Canadian nationals in recent weeks after ransom deadlines passed. The group is still holding Malaysian seamen and Japanese, Dutch, Norwegian, and Philippine citizens. (Reuters)

Seven Indonesian sailors kidnapped in Phillippines

Jakarta banned today any Indonesian-flagged vessels from sailing to the Philippines, the transport ministry said, after yet another violent kidnapping in the strife-torn waters between the two nations. 
 
The ruling was issued after the government confirmed seven Indonesian sailors were kidnapped at gunpoint earlier this week, and were being held hostage by an unknown group. 
 
It&#39;s the third time this year Indonesian sailors have been abducted in the Sulu sea, a vital waterway that&#39;s seen a spike in seaborne crime like armed robberies and kidnappings. 
 
In response to the latest incident, the transport ministry issued a notice informing all harbour masters they were &quot;strictly prohibited from issuing permits to all Indonesian-flagged vessels bound for the Philippines, without exception&quot;. 
 
&quot;This hijacking issue is a serious matter and cannot be tolerated anymore,&quot; the ministry&#39;s water transport director general A Tonny Budiono said in a statement. 
 
To prevent any commercial vessels from breaching the ban, Indonesia will also ramp up marine patrols in its waters bordering the southern Philippines, Budiono added. 
 
It&#39;s not yet clear how significantly trade will be affected by the ban, but it could severely disrupt the flow of goods from Southeast Asia&#39;s largest economy -- including natural resources like coal -- to the Philippines. 
 
The Sulu and Celebes seas form a key waterway between Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia, and are used for the passage of 55 million metric tonnes of goods and over 18 million people per year. 
 
Last month, the three countries agreed to launch a coordinated patrol of the waters after the recent surge of kidnappings. 
 
The Indonesian sailors abducted this week were towing a coal barge through the Sulu sea when their tugboat was attacked by gunmen. 
 
&quot;The government will do everything possible to free these hostages,&quot; foreign minister Retno Marsudi told reporters. 
 
Sulu, a southern archipelago, is a known hideout of Abu Sayyaf Islamic militants who have earned millions of dollars from kidnappings in recent years. 
 
A spokesman for the foreign ministry said he could not confirm whether a ransom demand had been made, or if Abu Sayyaf was responsible for the abductions. 
 
Earlier this year the group kidnapped 14 Indonesian sailors, holding them in their stronghold in the southern Philippines. They were later freed but there was no information on whether a ransom was paid. 
 
(PTI)

Ban comes after gunmen abduct Indonesian sailors in Sulu sea, a hideout of Abu Sayyaf militants known for kidnappings

Jakarta banned today any Indonesian-flagged vessels from sailing to the Philippines, the transport ministry said, after yet another violent kidnapping in the strife-torn waters between the two nations. The ruling was issued after the government confirmed seven Indonesian sailors were kidnapped at gunpoint earlier this week, and were being held hostage by an unknown group. It's the third time this year Indonesian sailors have been abducted in the Sulu sea, a vital waterway that's seen a spike in seaborne crime like armed robberies and kidnappings. In response to the latest incident, the transport ministry issued a notice informing all harbour masters they were "strictly prohibited from issuing permits to all Indonesian-flagged vessels bound for the Philippines, without exception". "This hijacking issue is a serious matter and cannot be tolerated anymore," the ministry's water transport director general A Tonny Budiono said in a statement. To prevent any commercial vessels from breaching the ban, Indonesia will also ramp up marine patrols in its waters bordering the southern Philippines, Budiono added. It's not yet clear how significantly trade will be affected by the ban, but it could severely disrupt the flow of goods from Southeast Asia's largest economy -- including natural resources like coal -- to the Philippines. The Sulu and Celebes seas form a key waterway between Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia, and are used for the passage of 55 million metric tonnes of goods and over 18 million people per year. Last month, the three countries agreed to launch a coordinated patrol of the waters after the recent surge of kidnappings. The Indonesian sailors abducted this week were towing a coal barge through the Sulu sea when their tugboat was attacked by gunmen. "The government will do everything possible to free these hostages," foreign minister Retno Marsudi told reporters. Sulu, a southern archipelago, is a known hideout of Abu Sayyaf Islamic militants who have earned millions of dollars from kidnappings in recent years. A spokesman for the foreign ministry said he could not confirm whether a ransom demand had been made, or if Abu Sayyaf was responsible for the abductions. Earlier this year the group kidnapped 14 Indonesian sailors, holding them in their stronghold in the southern Philippines. They were later freed but there was no information on whether a ransom was paid. (PTI)

Jakarta bans all Indonesian-flagged vessels from sailing to Philippines

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Philippines, Malaysia revive decades-long dispute on Twitter over ownership of Sabah

Philippines storm leaves 182 dead, tens of thousands displaced

Seven Indonesian sailors kidnapped in Phillippines

Jakarta bans all Indonesian-flagged vessels from sailing to Philippines