Navy ship goes to Malaysia trying to get Filipinos

In this photo taken on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013, a policeman closes a gate of their base at a village of Sahabat 16, near Lahad Datu, Sabab, Malaysia. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – A Philippine navy ship was sailing to waters off eastern Malaysia on Monday to try to bring back some members of a Filipino clan who became locked in a territorial standoff after going there and claiming land as their own.

About 180 Filipinos, including about 30 armed security guards, arrived in Sabah state’s coastal district of Lahad Datu about two weeks ago, claiming Sabah belongs to their royal clan based in the southern Philippine province of Sulu.

Malaysian authorities regard them as armed intruders and have attempted to persuade them to leave peacefully, extending a deadline until Tuesday.

Philippine and Malaysian authorities have said the group’s demands should be addressed through diplomatic channels.

The Philippines notified Malaysia about the ship arrangements Saturday and said the vessel will stay off Lahad Datu while talks to persuade the Filipinos to return home continue. It departed Sunday night with an entourage including social workers and medical personnel and was due to arrive around midday Monday.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the navy ship was on a humanitarian mission to try to pick up five women and some of the other group members. “We urge them to board the ship without delay and return home,” he said.

Del Rosario also repeated a plea for the entire group to return home to their families in the southern Philippines while “we are addressing the core issues they have raised.”

“Please do so for your own safety,” he said.

Malaysian police have not said what kind of weapons the Filpinos possess. Details from the remote area, about 500 kilometers (300 miles) from Sabah’s capital city, have been scarce.

Security along Malaysia’s sea border with the Philippines has been problematic for Sabah, where tens of thousands of impoverished Filipinos have tried to migrate over the past few decades.

In 2000, Muslim extremists from the southern Philippines slipped twice into Sabah and abducted people for ransom, including European tourists and Malaysian workers from a diving resort.

One of the most recent kidnappings involved two Malaysians snatched from a plantation in Lahad Datu in November. They were believed to have been taken to the southern Philippines.