PM raises concern over US military expansion in Philippines, to beef up Sabah defence

PM raises concern over US military expansion in Philippines, to beef up Sabah defence

Hariz Mohd
Published: Aug 18, 2026 4:50 PM
Updated: 7:43 PM


The government will beef up defence infrastructure in Sabah to prepare for increasing geopolitical uncertainty in the region, according to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

This follows the recent expansion of US military facilities in the Philippines to Balabac Island in Palawan province, which lies near Malaysian waters and in close proximity to Banggi Island in Sabah.

While bilateral relations between Malaysia and the Philippines are "very good", Anwar said Malaysia still has concerns over the development due to existing territorial disputes between them.

"President Bongbong Marcos’ (Ferdinand Marcos Jr) reason for this was security, given the tensions with China.

"But as a neighbouring country located so close to us, and given the existing territorial claims involving Sabah, we are naturally somewhat concerned, even though our bilateral relations with the Philippines are very good.

"This means we must also have adequate defence capabilities, because the Sabah government is concerned as well. It has been urging that we cannot simply leave the situation as it is," he said in a speech in Putrajaya earlier today.

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr


Anwar, who is also the finance minister, was speaking at the Budget 2027 Engagement Session held at the Finance Ministry.


Multiple rocket launchers in Balabac Island

According to a report by a military news portal, Naval News, the US army last month offloaded its 7th Infantry Division's M142 High Mobility Rocket Artillery Systems (Himars) onto Balabac Island.

Developed by Lockheed Martin specifically for the US, M142 Himars is a light multiple rocket launcher that can fire guided rockets against targets up to 92km away, or ballistic missiles up to 500km away.

Balabac Island is located about 50km from the Sabah islands of Banggi and Balambangan. The latter houses a maritime radar installation that covers most of the northern part of Sabah.

While Anwar did not go into detail on what the government is planning for Sabah, it is believed it might include a new air force base and procurement of additional aerial assets.

He said that while Malaysia would not be able to match the military strength the US parks in Balabac Island, Putrajaya aims to at least give Sabah some defence upgrade.

"And this would require an additional budget in the hundreds of millions, or even a billion ringgit.

"Surely, we can't be having an airport without the aircraft," Anwar stated.


Ongoing territorial dispute

Sabah has been a subject of territorial disputes between Malaysia and the Philippines, as the latter lays claim to the state because a southern Philippine sultanate ruled it in the 15th century.

In 2013, a group of armed militias that follow a self-styled Sulu sultanate carried out an intrusion in the eastern part of Sabah to assert their claim on the territory.

This led to deadly clashes between the group and Malaysia's security forces, with more than 50 militia members and 10 Malaysian security personnel dead.


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Following the incident, the government beefed up security in Sabah by establishing the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone), which is overseen by a multi-agency security command known as the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom).