evidence: Opinion | Why the Philippines has no justifiable claim to Sabah and never had - Manila’s move derives from the defunct Sulu sultanate’s disputed earlier claim to North Borneo when it was still part of the Brunei Empire - As the ruling against China in the South China Sea shows, international law does not recognise claims based just on historical interpretation The main narrative in the Philippines is that Brunei granted the territory to Sulu in gratitude for Sulu’s military assistance during the 1660-73 Brunei Civil War. The narrative in Brunei is that no assistance was given, so no transfer of property occurred. Besides, the dates given for Sulu’s supposed annexation of North Borneo are either 1658 or 1704, two years before or more than three decades after Brunei’s civil war. The Brunei sultans in both 1658 and 1704 were not among the three who reigned over the war period.