With annexation looming, Kiram joined the Moros struggle against the American expansion, prolonging an asymmetrical war across the Sulu Archipelago against superior equipment and manpower reserves the US possessed.

After nine years of warfare, Kiram resigned himself to the Carpenter Treaty on 22 March 1915, effectively constituted the fall of the Sulu Sultanate and enshrined full American sovereignty over its former lands.

[5] Before his long reign, his father Jamal ul-Azam signed many agreements, including an 1878 deal with two European merchants, who were representatives of the British North Borneo Company.

[6] Under this agreement, the Sulu Sultan gave control of lands in North Borneo, now known as Sabah and part of Malaysia, in exchange for an annual fee to be paid by the British.

Since Kiram passed the sovereignty of Sulu to the United States, he made the 1903 Deed of Confirmation ceding the territory of North Borneo to the British Company.

[11] Years later, eight of these Sulu heirs, who insisted they were not involved in the standoff, hired lawyers to pursue legal action based on the original commercial deal.

[26] The ruling highlighted irregularities in the arbitration process led by Gonzalo Stampa and raised concerns about practices such as forum shopping and unregulated litigation funding in European courts.

[27][28] The French court's decision was deemed a significant "win" for Malaysia that effectively marked the end of the Sulu case by several publications, including Law.com and Law360.

[28][29]  Keith Ellison, former vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee and Minnesota attorney general, pointed out that the case highlighted the enormous scope for "corruption," irresponsible profiteering, and foreign influence operations to subvert arbitration proceedings".

[30] Following Malaysia's legal victory in the French Court, Paul Cohen argued that the ruling allows the Sulu heirs to lease Sabah to other nations, such as China and the Philippines.

Cohen also suggested that accepting the French court's decision implies recognition of the Sulu Sultanate descendants' sovereignty over Sabah, which Malaysia disputes.

[31] In response, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said dismissed Cohen's statements as baseless and reaffirmed Sabah's status as part of Malaysia, citing historical and legal foundations such as the Cobbold Commission and the 1963 referendum.

[33] These laws reaffirmed the Philippines' maritime territories and rights to natural resources across the South China Sea, including Sabah, drawing strong criticism from Malaysia.

[33] On November 15, 2024, Kuala Lumpur lodged a diplomatic protest against the two maritime laws, arguing that they infringed upon Malaysia's territorial boundaries in the South China Sea.