SUMMARY
The Sultanate of Sulu was a rebel group that fought an intrastate armed conflict against the Government of Malaysia over the Sabah region on Northern Borneo. The aim of the Sultanate of Sulu was to regain control of Sabah, which it claimed to have the historical ownership rights over.
The Sultanate of Sulu dates back to the early parts of the 15th century, when Sayyid Abu Bakr established himself as the First Sultan of Sulu, a territory that included the Sulu Archipelago and large parts of modern-day Mindanao, a region in the Philippines. In 1658, the Sultanate of Sulu acquired control of the territory of Sabah (North Borneo) in present-day Malaysia. The 21st century armed group using this name questioned the circumstances under which the control of Sabah was passed to the British government in 1946; it was also opposed to the decision by the British to cede Sabah to the independent state of Malaysia. During the 20th and 21st centuries, the Sultanate was mainly a symbolic concept maintained by a small circle of people around the “royal” family, rather than an actual political or geographic entity.
The Sultanate’s decision to transformed itself into an armed group in 2013 was made after the Government of Philippines signed a peace agreement – following mediation efforts by Malaysia - with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The Sultanate felt excluded from the peace process, and claimed that it infringed on the group’s ancestral right to the Sulu Archipelago; Sulu was part of the territory that MILF sought to declare an independent state, and thus claimed authority over. The Sultanate did not consider MILF as a legitimate representative of the people in Mindanao, and therefor questioned the Philippine government’s decision to strike an autonomy deal with the group. The attack on Malaysian Sabha appears to have been an attempt by the Sultanate of Sulu to attract attention and establish itself as a stakeholder in the Mindanao negotiations. The group even stated that its claim to Sabah was an “integral and essential” aspect of any peace agreement on Mindanao, and that they had decided to act on their own given that the Philippine government had not taken their interests into account.
In 2013, Jamalul Kiram III occupied the position of “Sultan”, and thus served as the group’s top leader until his death in October 2013; Esmail Kiram II succeeded him. The group had its base in the Sulu Archipelago, a part of the Philippines’ Mindanao region, and it was comprised of Philippine citizens. At the time of the conflict in 2013, the group had managed to assemble an “armed wing” – called the “Royal Army of the Sultanate of Sulu” – that was comprised of approximately 235 fighters. Sultan Jamalul Kiram III’s brother, Rajah Mudah Agbimuddin Kiram, led this force.
The Sultanate of Sulu received support for its Sabah-claim from the Government of Philippines, which since 1962 had its own dispute – based on the Sultanate of Sulu’s historical borders - over Sabha with Malaysia. During the 2013 conflict, the Philippine government was however reluctant to help the Sultanate; it even urged Jamalul Kiram III to recall his forces. Philippine authorities also implied that the Sultan might be held legally responsible for any laws he may have broken when ordering the “invasion”. The Philippine government also offered to bring the Sultanate’s claim to the United Nations, and sent ships to pick up his followers.
While it has not been confirmed, it was suspected that MNLF’s Nur Misuari faction, may have been involved in the attack on Sabah. Misuari was also displeased with the agreement signed between the Government of Philippines and MILF. It was suggested that Misuari hoped to spoil the agreement by having the Sultanate of Sulu’s attack disrupt the relationship between the Philippines and Malaysia by reactivating the countries’ territorial dispute over Sabha. However, the Misuari-link was only speculative, and the Sultanate denied any connection to the militant groups on Mindanao.
The Sultanate of Sulu was militarily defeated in 2013. However, the Sultanate itself was not disbanded, and the group stated that it would continue to pursue the Sabha issue, albeit via diplomatic and legal means.
