Borneo is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and east of Sumatra.
Sabah is a state of Malaysia located on the northern portion of Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalimantan province to the south. The Federal Territory of Labuan is an island just off Sabah's west coast. Sabah shares maritime borders with Vietnam to the west and the Philippines to the north and east. Kota Kinabalu is the region capital city, the economic centre of the region, and the seat of the Sabah region government. Other major towns in Sabah include Sandakan and Tawau. The 2020 census recorded a population of 3,418,785 in the state. It has an equatorial climate with tropical rainforests, abundant with animal and plant species. The state has long mountain ranges on the west side which forms part of the Crocker Range National Park. Kinabatangan River, the second longest river in Malaysia runs through Sabah. The highest point of Sabah, Mount Kinabalu is also the highest point of Malaysia.
East Malaysia, or the Borneo States, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia on and near the island of Borneo, the world's third-largest island. East Malaysia comprises the states of Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territory of Labuan. The small independent nation of Brunei lies sandwiched between Sabah and Sarawak. To the south and southeast is the Indonesian portion of Borneo, Kalimantan. East Malaysia lies to the east of Peninsular Malaysia, the part of the country on the Malay Peninsula. The two are separated by the South China Sea.
The geography of Malaysia includes both the physical and the human geography of Malaysia, a Southeast Asian country made up of two major landmasses separated by water—Peninsular Malaysia to the west and East Malaysia to the east—and numerous smaller islands that surround those landmasses. Peninsular Malaysia is on the southernmost part of the Malay Peninsula, south of Thailand, north of Singapore and east of the Indonesian island of Sumatra; East Malaysia comprises most of the northern part of Borneo island, and shares land borders with Brunei to the north and Indonesian Borneo to the south.
Labuan, officially the Federal Territory of Labuan, is a Federal Territory of Malaysia. Its territory includes Labuan Island and six smaller islands, off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capital is Victoria and is best known as an offshore financial centre offering international financial and business services via Labuan IBFC since 1990 as well as being an offshore support hub for deepwater oil and gas activities in the region. It is also a tourist destination for people travelling through Sabah, nearby Bruneians and scuba divers. The name Labuan derives from the Malay word labuhan which means harbour.
Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising 600 metres (2,000 ft) from the seabed. It is located in the Celebes Sea off the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia. It was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct volcanic cone that took thousands of years to develop. Sipadan is located at the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin, the centre of one of the richest marine habitats in the world. More than 400 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this ecosystem. Sipadan Island was at the top of Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine Gold List for 'The Top Dive Destination in the World'. In fact it shared its top spot with 2 other destinations known for the diversity of their marine life — the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador and Truk in Micronesia. Further more, one of the dive operators; Scuba Junkie was voted by the public the "Best Dive Resort in the World 2020" at DiveMagazine's annual Dive Travel Awards.
Ligitan is a small island in Tawau, Sabah, located east of the island of Borneo, in the Celebes Sea. In the past, the island was at the centre of a territorial dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia. The matter was brought for adjudication before the International Court of Justice and, at the end of 2002, the Court awarded the island along with the island of Sipadan to Malaysia, on the basis of the "effective occupation" displayed by the latter's predecessor and the absence of any other superior title. The Philippines had applied to intervene in the proceedings on the basis of its claim to Northern Borneo, but its request was turned down by the Court early in 2001.
Tiga Island Park was established in 1978, although the area has been under protection as a forest reserve since 1933. It is located north of Kuala Penyu, opposite the swampy Klias Peninsula, in Sabah, Malaysia.
The Sama-Bajau include several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah ; or are known by the exonym Bajau. They usually live a seaborne lifestyle and use small wooden sailing vessels such as the perahu, djenging (balutu), lepa, and vinta (pilang). Some Sama-Bajau groups native to Sabah are also known for their traditional horse culture.
Lankayan Island is a small tropical coral resort island in Beluran, Sabah, Malaysia in the Sulu Sea.
The Philippines has claimed many territories throughout its history. These territories include the Spratly Islands, portions of North Borneo, and the Scarborough Shoal.
Malawali is an island in the state of Sabah, Malaysia located in the Sulu Sea. It is located within the Kudat Division, and sits nearby the islands of Banggi and Balambangan. The island is surrounded by coral reefs and is one of the popular diving spot on the north-east coast of Sabah.
Tun Sakaran Marine Park, also known as Semporna Islands Park, is a marine park located off the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia. It consists of the islands of Bodgaya, Boheydulang, Sebangkat, and Salakan, the sand cays of Maiga, Sibuan, and Mantabuan, and the patch reefs of Church and Kapikan. In 2004, the park became the seventh gazetted area under Sabah Parks with a total area of 350 km2. There are approximately 2,000 people living within the park, most of whom consist of the nomadic Bajau Laut people, who live in stilt houses and houseboats in and around the marine park. To this day, out of the eight islands, there is only one island that has an owner and legal grant holder after the gazetting in 2004.
Malaysia–Philippines relations refers to the bilateral relations between Malaysia and the Philippines. The Philippines has an embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and Malaysia has an embassy in Manila and a consulate general in Davao City. The people of the two neighbouring countries have a long history of cultural and political relations.
The Malaysia–Philippines border is a maritime boundary located in the South China, Sulu and Celebes Seas. It separates the Malaysian state of Sabah, which is on the island of Borneo, and the Sulu Islands of the southern Philippines.
Peninsular Malaysia, historically known as Malaya, also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, is the part of Malaysia that occupies the southern half of the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia and the nearby islands. Its area totals 132,490 km2 (51,150 sq mi), which is nearly 40% of the total area of the country; the other 60% is in East Malaysia. It shares a land border with Thailand to the north and a maritime border with Singapore to the south.
Si Amil Island is a Malaysian island located in the Celebes Sea on the state of Sabah. Si Amil Island is situated northeast of Danawan Island.
Mataking Island is a Malaysian island located in the Celebes Sea on the state of Sabah. Mataking Island is home to the first 'Underwater Post Office' in Malaysia and is connected to Pulau Mataking Kecil via a narrow sand bank. Mataking Island is a private island belonging to the Reef Dive Resort featuring luxury chalets and a dive center serving divers visiting Sipadan.
Mengalum Island is an island located on the West Coast Division of Sabah in the South China Sea on Malaysia. The island is among popular destination for Chinese tourists to Sabah.
Little Bakkungaan Island is a tiny, flat, tropical island surrounded by the Sulu Sea in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. The island is the largest of the three Malaysian Turtle Islands that together comprise the Turtle Islands National Park. It covers a land area of 8.5 hectares. It is at the very edge of the international treaty limits separating Malaysia from the Republic of the Philippines. Indeed, the island itself is referred to in the international border treaty concluded in 1930 between the United States and the United Kingdom. That treaty sets the international frontier as running in a straight line between Little Bakkungaan Island and Great Bakkungaan Island. Great Bakkungaan Island is one of the Philippine Turtle Islands and less than 2km of water separate the two islands. This makes Little Bakkungaan Island the internationally recognised Malaysian territory that is closest to Philippine territory. The island hosts a turtle hatchery. The island is administered by Sabah Parks. There are several buildings on the island used by park rangers as well as a peer. Much of the island is surrounded by beach.
Sabah 
