non-issue and non-negotiable, thereby rejecting any calls from the Philippines to resolve the matter in ICJ. Sabah authorities stated in 2009 that they see the claim made by the Philippines' Moro leader Nur Misuari to take Sabah to International Court of Justice (ICJ) as a non-issue and that they dismiss the claim. Related events Ops Merdeka and Jabidah Massacre In 1967, President Ferdinand Marcos secretly authorised Major Eduardo "Abdul Latif" Martelino, a Muslim convert, to take charge of the operations of a secret commando unit code-named "Jabidah" and embark on an operation called "Project Merdeka" (merdeka means "freedom" in Malay) to destabilise and take over Sabah. The alleged mastermind, however, included leading generals in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Defense Undersecretary Manuel Syquio, and Marcos himself. This plan backfired when in 1968 Senator Benigno Ninoy Aquino Jr laid out the plan to reclaim Sabah. The trainees refused to continue their training and demanded to be returned home. One batch of recruits were disarmed, with some of the trainees returned home and some others transferred to a regular military camp in Luzon. But another batch of recruits were killed by army troops, with only one survivor, Jibin Arula, managing to escape. This event is acknowledged as a major flashpoint that ignited the Moro insurgency in the Philippines. The Moro insurgency which economically destroyed Mindanao was publicly supported by Malaysia, in retaliation for Filipino reconquest attempts of Sabah. 1985 incident In September 1985, 15-20 armed foreign pirates from the neighbouring Philippines landed in Lahad Datu, and killed at least 21 people and injured 11 others in a series of robberies and random shootings. In addition, some $200,000 from a local bank as well as another $5,000 from the Malaysia Airlines office were stolen. Sovereignty over Ligitan and Sipadan islands case In 2002, in a case concerning sovereignty over Ligitan and Sipadan islands between Indonesia and Malaysia, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in favour of Malaysia. The two islands are located in the Celebes Sea off the northeast coast of Borneo. The case was decided based on Malaysia's effectivités (evidence of possession and use by a particular state that is effective to claim title) on the two islands as both Indonesia and Malaysia did not possess treaty-based titles on Ligitan and Sipadan. The Philippines applied to intervene in the case based on its territorial claim to North Borneo. Indonesia