Malaysia- The Philippines Political Relations 1961-1965: Domestic and Systemic Factors

Abstract

This paper discusses and analyse the factors responsible to the political relationship between Malaysia and the Philippines during the period 1961-1965. The focus discussion is on the Sabah issue and the formation of Federation of Malaysia in September 1963 and its impact to the Malaysia-Philippines political relations.  Why the relations and conflict between Malaysia and the Philippines was different as compared to the Malaysia-Indonesian relations during the same period? How was this political relationship related and responsible to the domestic, leadership, regional and systemic factors? The position of the Philippines and Malaysia in the international and regional bipolarity political structure is important in understanding the above issue. How significant was the roles played by the United States and the Great Britain in international politics during the Cold War period had influenced the regional political relations between Malaysia and the Philippines. The United States and Great Britain was the great player in the international bipolarity structure and the regional politics after the Second World War. The diplomatic relations of Britain with Malaysia and the Philippines with the United States influenced the type of the political relations. Why did the United States and the Great Britain gave strong support to the formation of Federation of Malaysia in 1963? What was the relationship with the communist containments in Southeast Asia and generally in the Asia Pacific region, the political relations of Indonesia with China and the Soviet Union.  The above characteristic of relationship enables to explain why the relations of Malaysia-Indonesia and Malaysia-the Philippines were different during that period. Power configuration in the bipolarity structure is importance in analysing the political relations between Malaysia and the Philippines.  It is also important to discuss the relationship between leadership, domestic, regional and systemic factors. All of the factors influenced the political relations between Malaysia and the Philippines during the period 1961-1965.

Keywords: Domestic factor, systemic factor, hegemonic power, Malaysia-Philippines relations, The United States, Great Britain, bipolarity structure.