A "Zone", like that of the Sulu Sultanate, was not just a "spatial" site of economic, cross-cultural and symbolic contact.

像苏禄苏丹王国的这样一个“区域”，它不单单是一个经济的、跨文化的和象征性的接触空间。

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The crux of their disagreement lies in a contract made in 1878, between the Sultanate of Sulu and the British North Borneo Company.

BBC: How do you solve a problem like Sabah?

Calling themselves the Royal Army of Sulu, the clan members said they were descendants of the Sultanate of Sulu in the southern Philippines, which ruled parts of northern Borneo for centuries, and demanded that the Malaysian government pay more money to lease their land.

BBC: Malaysia troops hunt Filipino clan amid Sabah violence

It formed part of the Sulu Sultanate - which once spread over several southern Philippine islands as well as parts of Borneo - before it was designated a British protectorate in the 1800s.

BBC: Malaysia stand-off with Philippine group