PHILIPPINES INTENSIFIES NAVAL BLOCKADE IN THE SULU SEA, ANOTHER ISLAND DISPUTE. BUT THIS TIME THE DRAGON ISN'T INVOLVED, YET.
Editor's Note: The Sulu Sea is a little smaller than the Caspian Sea and is located south of the main islands of the Philippines and is defined by being surrounded by the SULU Archipelago which was ruled prior to Spanish rule by a Sultanate separate and distinct from the pre- Spanish government of the Philippines. The Sultanate of Sulu is apparently not operating as a full nation state but has some sort of recognition within the Philippine constitution. The Sultanate has apparently reasserted certain rights on certain islands by inserting or encouraging the invasion by civil occupiers. The Philippine Navy has responded by blockading certain of the islands. While acknowledging the the fact that the Sultanate has some legal claims to certain Islands the Philippine government refuses to cede any island by force or civil demonstration, the government wants the Sultanate to follow the legal process. The Sultanate is a Muslim Society while the Philippines is largely Catholic. Below is a link to a Wikipedia article you may find helpful if you are not familiar with the area. The area is not far from where the ongoing salvage effort of the U.S. Mine Sweeper GUARDIAN is in progress.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulu_Archipelago
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STORY FROM AND LINK TO THE MANILA TIMES
PH Navy blocks Sulu Sea
- Published on 21 February 2013
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THE Philippine Navy has sealed off the so-called southern backdoor, to prevent the followers of the sultan of Sulu province from traveling to Sabah, where a standoff between the sultanate’s followers and Malaysian security authorities persists.
The naval blockade was one of the measures taken by the Philippine government to prevent the escalation of the already tense situation, meant to ease the tension in and around Lahad Datu, where hundreds of Filipinos were holed up.
Lt. Commander Gregory Gerald Favic, Navy spokesman, on Thursday, said that six ships and an islander plane have been patrolling the Sulu Sea after Malaysian authorities reported the presence of loyal supporters of the sultanate. The group is headed by Raja Muda Azzimudie Kiram, a brother of Sultan Jamalul Kiram 3rd of Sulu.
Favic said that the Navy patrol team is keeping a close watch on the vicinity of the provinces of Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan, home provinces of Kiram’s mostly Tausog warriors.
PH Navy blocks Sulu Sea
- Published on 21 February 2013
- Hits: 1,126
- Written by
0 0 0 New
The naval blockade was one of the measures taken by the Philippine government to prevent the escalation of the already tense situation, meant to ease the tension in and around Lahad Datu, where hundreds of Filipinos were holed up.
Lt. Commander Gregory Gerald Favic, Navy spokesman, on Thursday, said that six ships and an islander plane have been patrolling the Sulu Sea after Malaysian authorities reported the presence of loyal supporters of the sultanate. The group is headed by Raja Muda Azzimudie Kiram, a brother of Sultan Jamalul Kiram 3rd of Sulu.
Favic said that the Navy patrol team is keeping a close watch on the vicinity of the provinces of Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan, home provinces of Kiram’s mostly Tausog warriors.
Link To Full story: http://www.manilatimes.net/~manilati/index.php/news/headlines-mt/42016-ph-navy-blocks-sulu-sea
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STORY FROM AND LINK TO PHILIPPINE STAR .COM
Phl intensifies naval blockade in Sulu Sea
MANILA, Philippines - The military has started enforcing a naval blockade in Sulu Sea to prevent undocumented Filipinos from entering Sabah amid the continuing standoff between the followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and Malaysian security forces, the Department of National Defense (DND) said Friday.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin stressed that while the heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu may have basis in reclaiming Sabah as their ancestral land, the process they are pursuing right now is wrong.
“We have put up a naval blockade in the area so that we could stop our undocumented fellow Filipinos from leaving (for Sabah),” Gazmin said.
The Philippine Navy (PN) announced earlier that it has deployed six naval gunboats in the country’s southern backdoor as tension mounted in Sabah with the Malaysian authorities issuing an ultimatum group of Datu Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, to leave Lahad Datu by Friday (yesterday) "or else."
This move was apparently in response to reports that several groups of Filipino Muslims are all poised to reinforce their Tausog brothers in Sabah if Malaysia security forces will use force to dislodge them.
Datu Raja Muda along with around 200 followers went to Sabah, under the royal orders of the Sultanate of Sulu issued Sultan Jamalul Kiram III,( his brother), to press their reclaim bid for their ancestral land last week.
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