Malaysia hopeless claim in Palawan Spratlys boost ties with China

 

North Borneo (Sabah) - Palawan (The Sultanate of Sulu Territory)

Malaysia's claim in the West Philippine islands in Spratlys are based on their recent control in the North Borneo as a state of Malaysia but still not recognized by the Sultanate of Sulu which is now under the Philippine Territory.

 

North Borneo was once a State of the Sultanate of Sulu but illegally turnover by the British company to Malaysia.

 

Sultanate State of Sulu is still hoping to regain its control over the  North Borneo to be part of the State of the Philippines when the Charter Change will happen.

 

Kuala lumpur government's claim in some islands of Spratlys are weak and might only fall back to the Philippines if the Sultanate of Sulu will regain its control over the North Borneo.

 

Malaysia Hopeless over Spratlys Boost ties to China

 

Malaysia, China boost ties, overlapping claims in West Philippine Sea not a factor

 

Malaysia and China continue to strengthen the existing bilateral ties without letting the overlapping claims in the Spratlys Island hamper the efforts.

 

The bilateral ties between Malaysia and China were taken to greater heights during the half-hour meeting between Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping, who had shown a very keen interest in Malaysia.

 

Muhyiddin said Xi probably could not forget the facts that Malaysia was the first among Asean member countries to establish diplomatic ties with China in 1974, besides being the first country to invite the republic to join Asean+1 and to host the Asean-China Summit.

 

"He (Xi) really appreciates the supports given by Malaysia," he told the Malaysian press covering his visit to China here today.

 

On the overlapping claims in the South China Sea, Muhyiddin said he had made it clear to Xi that the issues should not affect the long existing economic ties between Malaysia and China.

 

"Although the issues have yet be resolved, all trades and investments should go on and remain unaffected," he said.

 

The deputy prime minister said Malaysia believed that the overlapping claims should be resolved peacefully through dialogues and negotiations between the countries involved, without involving military powers and intimidation, and that it should also be based on international law and not history.

 

He said the implementation of the South China Sea Code of Conduct (CoC) and the ongoing efforts to ensure its success were essential to resolve the issues.

 

"These issues shouldn't affect the existing ties between China and other countries too," he said.

 

For the record, several countries, namely Malaysia, Philippine, Brunei, Vietnam, China and Taiwan, have made overlapping claims over waters and islands in the South China Sea.

 

The meeting also discussed the development of Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park and Qinzhou Industrial Park which would symbolise the strong ties between the two countries.

 

Muhyiddin said Xi had also expressed his intention to boost Asean-China trade in four major areas, namely in strengthening China-Asean Free Trade Area (FTA) involving private and government-to-government programmes; the importance of bilateral investment to boost China-Asean relations; improving connectivity in various fields and emphasizing on people-to-people relations, especially among youths and students.

 

As such, Muhyiddin said Xi also proposed the setting of an exchange programme involving 100,000 Chinese students and 100,000 other from Asean member countries.

 

At the end of the meeting, Muhyiddin also thanked the Chinese government on the loan of a pair of Chinese giant pandas, which were scheduled to arrive in Malaysia in 2014.

 

"Xi has described the loan as a symbol of Malaysia-China diplomatic relations. China doesn't give pandas just to anybody," he said, adding that the facilities for the pandas were being prepared at the Wetland Park in Putrajaya.

 

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Asia's Oldest treasure - most advanced tomb discovered in the Philippines-1,000 years

In this March 1, 2011 photo released by the Philippine National Museum, Filipino archeologists measure the dimensions of a limestone coffin at Mount Kamhantik, near Mulanay town in Quezon province, eastern Philippines. Archeologists have unearthed remnants of what they believe is a 1,000-year-old village on a jungle-covered mountaintop in the Philippines with limestone coffins of a type never before found in this Southeast Asian nation, officials said, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Philippine National Museum)

Archaeologists have unearthed remnants of what they believe is a 1,000-year-old village on a jungle-covered mountaintop in the Philippines with limestone coffins of a type never before found in this Southeast Asian nation, officials said Thursday.

 

National Museum official Eusebio Dizon said the village on Mount Kamhantik, near Mulanay town in Quezon province, could be at least 1,000 years old based on U.S. carbon dating tests done on a human tooth found in one of 15 limestone graves he and other archaeologists have dug out since last year.

 

The discovery of the rectangular tombs, which were carved into limestone outcrops jutting from the forest ground, is important because it is the first indication that Filipinos at that time practiced a more advanced burial ritual than previously thought and that they used metal tools to carve the coffins.

 

Past archaeological discoveries have shown Filipinos of that era used wooden coffins in the country's mountainous north and earthen coffins and jars elsewhere, according to Dizon, who has done extensive archaeological work and studies in the Philippines and 27 other countries over the past 35 years.

 

Aside from the tombs, archaeologists have found thousands of shards of earthen jars, metal objects and bone fragments of humans, monkeys, wild pigs and other animals in the tombs. The limestone outcrops had round holes where wooden posts of houses or sheds may have once stood, Dizon told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview.

 

The tombs were similar to ancient sarcophagus, which have become popular tourist attractions in Egypt and Europe, although the ones found in Mulanay were simple box-like limestone coffins without mythological or elaborate human images on the tops and sides.

 

Archaeologists have only worked on a small portion of a five-hectare (12-acre) forest area, where Mulanay officials said more artifacts and limestone coffins could be buried.

 

A preliminary National Museum report said its top archaeologists found ''a complex archaeological site with both habitation and burial remains from the period of approximately 10th to the 14th century ... the first of its kind in the Philippines having carved limestone tombs.''

 

The discovery has been welcomed with excitement in Mulanay, a sleepy coastal town of 50,000 people in an impoverished mountainous region that until recently was best known as a major battleground between army troops and Marxist rebels.

 

''Before, if you mention this region, people will say 'Oh, that's NPA country,''' Mulanay Mayor Joselito Ojeda said, referring to the New People's Army rebels. ''But that era is past and now we can erase that image and this archaeological site will be a big help.''

 

Mulanay tourism officer Sanny Cortez said that after archaeologists have finished their work in a few years, his town plans to turn Mount Kamhantik's peak into an archaeological and ecotourism park. A museum would also be built nearby.

 

Despite the loss of thick tree covers in the 1,300-foot (396-meter) mountain's foothills as villagers clear the jungle for homes and farms, the forested mountain still harbors a rich wildlife, including rare hornbills, wild cats and huge numbers of cave bats, including a white one recently seen by environmental officials. The mountaintop offers a scenic view of Tayabas Bay and the peak of Mayon volcano, famous for its near-perfect cone, Ojeda said.

 

The archaeological site is part of 280 hectares (692 acres) of forest land that was declared a government-protected area in 1998 to keep away treasure hunters and slash-and-burn farmers. Treasure hunters looking for gold exposed some of the limestone tombs years ago, but it was only last year that Manila-based archaeologists started to unearth the graves and artifacts and realize the significance of the find.

 

Treasure hunting has damaged many archaeological sites in the country. In the early 1990s, Filipino archaeologists led by Dizon discovered that 2,000-year-old burial jars with unique human face designs had been destroyed by treasure hunters in a cave in Maitum town in southern Sarangani province.

 

Archaeologists worked for a few years to glue the sack loads of clay shards piece by piece and restored more than 150 ancient burial jars to shape. Some of the Maitum jars are displayed at the National Museum in Manila with a plan to exhibit them in France next year, Dizon said.

 

AP

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