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Philstar.com
February 2, 2026 | 8:47am
This photo taken on April 18, 2023 shows the sun setting behind a Philippine fishing boat anchored in the Sulu sea.
AFP / Ted Aljibe
MANILA, Philippines — Subsidized fuel intended for fishermen in Malaysia’s Sabah state is being smuggled across the Sulu Sea and sold in southern parts of the Philippines at nearly double the price, according to a report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
The report said Malaysian marine police seized about 90,000 liters of petrol and nearly one million liters of diesel last year in multiple cases, with an estimated value of 88 million ringgit ($22 million). Authorities said much of the fuel was bound for illicit markets, including in the Philippines.
Sabah fishermen can buy subsidized diesel at 2.10 ringgit (about 53 US cents) per liter, while pump prices in the southern Philippines reach around 50 pesos (about 85 US cents) per liter, creating strong incentives for smuggling, the report said.
Short routes, strong demand
Parts of Sabah’s eastern coastline lie within 120 kilometers of the Philippines’ southern islands, with the narrowest maritime gap only about 18 kilometers near the Semporna islands. These overlapping maritime boundaries across the Sulu Sea complicate patrols and enforcement, Malaysian authorities said.
Fuel is easy to transport and difficult to trace, and even small margins can generate significant profits for smuggling networks, according to the report.
“Enforcement is complicated by the dense distribution of islands near international borders,” Sabah Marine Police Force regional commander Ahmad Amri Abdul Rahman told SCMP.
Malaysia’s fuel subsidies for fishermen were introduced in 2006 to support livelihoods, but officials acknowledged they can be exploited. Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu was quoted as saying that fishermen could purchase their full fuel quotas but sell unused portions on the black market.
Authorities also pointed to fuel storage sites on small islands near maritime borders, which complicate monitoring due to unclear regulations on storage limits.
