The porous border has also resulted in several incidents of cross-border raids and kidnapping by armed groups from the Philippines on Malaysian towns and resorts on the east coast of Sabah.
The relevant stretch lies between the Philippine island of Palawan and the northern tip of the Malaysian state of Sabah between turning points 7° 40' N 116° 0' E and 7° 40' N 117° 0' E. Although the British were not parties to this treaty, it has never challenged the extent of Philippine territorial waters after occupying North Borneo (Sabah today).
Article I of this treaty establishes the turning points for the defined portion of the maritime border between Malaysia and the Philippines.
The convention amended portions of the limits defined by the 1898 treaty to the current alignment of the Malaysia–Philippines border in the Sulu Sea, between point 7° 40' N 117° 0' E and 4° 45' N 120° 0' E. No common tri-point for Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines in the Celebes Sea was established as this treaty did not involve the Netherlands, being the colonial ruler of what is today Indonesia, as a signatory.
In fact, Indonesia and Malaysia are currently involved in a dispute resulting from overlapping claims of the continental shelf in the Celebes Sea and negotiations to establish the tripoint seem unlikely for the near future.
[7] These laws reaffirmed the Philippines' maritime territories and rights to natural resources across the South China Sea, including Sabah, drawing strong criticism from Malaysia.
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.