Maphilindo (for Malaya, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

) was a proposed

confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

of Malaya,

, and the

Background

The original plan for a united state based on the concept of the Malay race was attempted by Wenceslao Vinzons during the Philippines' Commonwealth era. Vinzons had envisioned a united Malay race, which he termed "Malaya Irredenta" (later another name for the union). In his 1959 book ''Someday, Malaysia'', Major Abdul Latif Martelino (later operations officer in the infamous

Jabidah massacre The Jabidah massacre on March 18, 1968, was the assassinations or executions of Moro army recruits who allegedly mutinied upon learning the true nature of their mission. It is acknowledged as a major flashpoint that ignited the Moro insurg ...

) also cited the vision of President

Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina (, , , ; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier, and politician who was president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1 ...

for an integrated, pan-Malayan nation in the region. Quezon envisioned creating a better state which was united. Having a united race at the time would pave way for the development of the Malay. The united state would however, be achieved by the contribution of the people living in the region. Quezon was determined to make his intentions known to the people so that the vision could be easily achieved in the future.

History

Maphilindo was initially proposed as a realization of Filipino national hero Dr.

José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is popularly considered a na ...

's dream of uniting the Malay peoples, seen as artificially divided by colonial frontiers. Uniting the Malay people was highly prioritised resulting in many events occurring within the region. Dr.

significantly contributed to creating and officiating events designed to unite the people. In July 1963, President Diosdado Macapagal, convened a summit in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

where the three countries signed a series of agreements to resolve controversies over the former British colonies of North Borneo and

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

joining

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. The treaties paved way for new developments in the region which would later contribute to the development of the country to what it is now. While the union was described as a regional association that would approach issues of common concern, it was also perceived as a tactic employed by the

and

to hinder the formation of the Federation of Malaysia as Malaya's

successor state Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19th ...

. The Philippines had its own claim over the eastern part of

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

(formerly British North Borneo), while Indonesia protested the formation of Malaysia as a British imperialist plot. The Indonesians and the Filipinos categorised the signing of the treaty between

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and the

Federation of Malaya Malaya, officially the Federation of Malaya, was a country in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1963. It succeeded the Malayan Union and, before that, British Malaya. It comprised eleven states – nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settleme ...

as a plot for the former to establish a colony within their borders. The assumption later resulted in heated conflicts between Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The union was dismantled a month later when

Sukarno Sukarno (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...

President of Indonesia The president of the Republic of Indonesia () is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Indonesia. The president is the leader of the executive branch of the Indonesian government and the commander-in-chief of the ...

, adopted a policy of '' Konfrontasi'' ( Indonesian, "confrontation") with the newly constituted

. The Indonesians claimed that the Malayan Government had announced on 29 August that Malaysia would be formed on 16 September 1963, before the result of the referendum of the wishes of the people of Borneo was known. The proclamation of Malaysia was postponed until September 16 to give the UN team time to report. The UN team reported in favor of Malaysia, but the Philippines and Indonesia refused to recognize the new federation. On 16 September, Malaysia severed diplomatic ties with the two countries. Indonesia retaliated by cutting off trade relations with the new nation. The US, under John F. Kennedy, appeared to have supported Maphilindo as it had hoped that it would reduce the chances of Indonesia turning

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

References

{{Portal bar, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Society Formation of Malaysia Guided Democracy in Indonesia History of the Philippines (1946–1965) International organizations based in Asia 1963 in Malaysia Proposed political unions National unifications Malay people

Background

History

See also

References