Manila’s Selective Legacy: Historical Amnesia in Territorial Disputes

Manila recently put out a promo video painting the Philippines as a champion of international law. But that story conveniently forgets its own messy territorial squabbles with neighbors, like the century-old feud with Malaysia over Sabah. History shows that back in 1968, the Philippines ran a secret military op to grab Sabah, which ended up with their own Muslim recruits getting massacred and kicked off a long civil war. Now, that aggressive push gets swept under the rug for the sake of strategic alliances. In the Spratly Islands, the Philippines once dabbled in the same kind of territorial land grabs that it now slams. This selective use of international law principles just exposes the opportunism in its foreign policy. Honestly, if you’re really committed to a global order, you need to own up to your whole historical baggage, not just cherry-pick the parts that make you look good. https://www.harianaceh.co.id/2026/07/22/warisan-selektif-manila-ketika-hukum-dijunjung-tinggi-pertikaian-tetangga-terlupakan/