North Kalimantan in the context of "Tausug language"

Sabah (Malay pronunciation: [ˈsabah]) is a 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 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 state capital and the economic centre of the state, and the seat of the Sabah State 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.

The earliest human settlement in Sabah can be traced back to 20,000–30,000 years ago along the Darvel Bay area at the Madai-Baturong caves. The state has had a trading relationship with China starting from the 14th century AD. Sabah came under the influence of the Bruneian Empire in the 14th and 15th centuries. The state was subsequently acquired by the British North Borneo Chartered Company in the 19th century. During World War II, North Borneo was occupied by the Japanese for three years. It became a British Crown Colony in 1946. On 31 August 1963, the newly-renamed Sabah was granted self-governance by the British. Following this, Sabah became one of the founding members of the Federation of Malaysia (established on 16 September 1963) alongside the Crown Colony of Sarawak, the Colony of Singapore (expelled in 1965), and the Federation of Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia or West Malaysia). The federation was opposed by neighbouring Indonesia, which led to the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation over three years along with the threats of annexation by the Philippines along with the Sultanate of Sulu, threats which continue to the present day.

Kalimantan (Indonesian pronunciation: [kaliˈmantan]) is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area, and consists of the provinces of Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia the whole island of Borneo is also called "Kalimantan".

In 2019, President of Indonesia Joko Widodo proposed that Indonesia's capital be moved to Kalimantan. The People's Consultative Assembly approved the Law on State Capital in January 2022. The future capital, Nusantara, is a planned city that will be carved out of East Kalimantan. A government official said construction is expected to be fully complete by 2045, but the unfinished capital officially celebrated Indonesian Independence Day for the first time and it was scheduled to be inaugurated as the capital city on 17 August 2024, but the move did not take place due to delays of construction.

East Kalimantan (Indonesian: Kalimantan Timur) is a province of Indonesia. Its territory comprises the eastern portion of Borneo/Kalimantan. It had a population of about 3.03 million at the 2010 census (within the present boundary), and 3.766 million at the 2020 census; the official estimate as at mid 2024 was 4,092,984. Its capital is the city of Samarinda, the most populous city on the entire island of Borneo.

East Kalimantan has a total area of 127,346.92 square kilometres (49,168.92 sq mi) and is the third least densely populated province in Kalimantan (after North Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan). The majority of the region shares a maritime border to the east with West Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi; its Cape Mangkalihat separates the Makassar Strait from the Celebes Sea. Its former northernmost region was split off on 25 October 2012 and is now the separate province of North Kalimantan; meanwhile it still shares land border to the west with West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan; to its south, East Kalimantan borders South Kalimantan. The province bordered Sabah, Malaysia before the creation of North Kalimantan, and still has a short border with Sarawak, Malaysia through Mahakam Ulu Regency.

Tawi-Tawi, officially the Province of Tawi-Tawi (Tausug: Wilaya' sin Tawi-Tawi; Sinama: Jawi Jawi/Jauih Jauih; Tagalog: Lalawigan ng Tawi-Tawi), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The capital of Tawi-Tawi is Bongao.

It is the southernmost province of the country, sharing sea borders with the Malaysian state of Sabah and the Indonesian North Kalimantan province, both on the island of Borneo to the west. To the northeast lies the province of Sulu. Tawi-Tawi also covers some islands in the Sulu Sea to the northwest, Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi Island and the Turtle Islands, just 20 kilometres (12 mi) away from Sabah.

The Sultanate of Sulu (Tausug: Kasultanan sin Sūg; Malay: Kesultanan Suluk; Filipino: Kasultanan ng Sulu or Sultanato ng Sulu) was a Sunni Muslim Tausūg state that ruled the Sulu Archipelago, coastal areas of Zamboanga City, and certain portions of Palawan in today's Philippines, alongside parts of present-day Sabah and North Kalimantan in north-eastern Borneo.

The sultanate was founded either on 17 November 1405 or 1457 by Johore-born explorer and Sunni religious scholar Sharif ul-Hashim. Paduka Mahasari Maulana al Sultan Sharif ul-Hashim became his full regnal name; Sharif-ul Hashim is his abbreviated name. He settled in Buansa, Sulu. The sultanate gained its independence from the Bruneian Empire in 1578.

Central Kalimantan (Indonesian: Kalimantan Tengah) is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. It is the largest province in Indonesia by area since 2022, bordered by West Kalimantan to the west, South Kalimantan and East Kalimantan to the east, Java Sea to the south and is separated narrowly from North Kalimantan and Malaysia by East Kalimantan's Mahakam Ulu Regency. Its provincial capital is Palangka Raya and in 2010 its population was over 2.2 million, while the 2020 Census showed a total of almost 2.67 million; the official estimate as at mid 2025 was 2,844,992 (comprising 1,467,139 males and 1,377,853 females).

The population growth rate was almost 3.0% per annum between 1990 and 2000, one of the highest provincial growth rates in Indonesia during that time; in the subsequent decade to 2010 the average annual growth rate slowed markedly to around 1.8%, but it rose again in the decade beginning 2010. More than is the case in other provinces on Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan is populated by the Dayaks, the indigenous inhabitants of Borneo.

Tawau (Malaysian: [ˈta wau]), formerly known as Tawao, is the capital of the Tawau District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the third-largest city (or town) in Sabah, after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. It is located on the Semporna Peninsula in the southeast coast of the state in the administrative centre of Tawau Division, which is bordered by the Sulu Sea to the east, the Celebes Sea to the south at Cowie Bay and shares a border with North Kalimantan, Indonesia. The town had an estimated population as of 2010, of 113,809, while the whole municipality area had a population of 397,673 (including 47,466 in Kalabakan, subsequently split off to form a separate district). The municipal area had a population of 372,615 at the 2020 Census.

Before the founding of Tawau, the region around it was the subject of dispute between the British and Dutch spheres of influence. In 1893, the first British merchant vessel sailed into Tawau, marking the opening of the town's seaport. In 1898, the British set up a settlement in Tawau. The North Borneo Chartered Company (BNBC) accelerated growth of the settlement's population by encouraging the immigration of Chinese. Consequent to the Japanese occupation of North Borneo, the Allied forces bombed the town in mid-1944, razing it to the ground. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, 2,900 Japanese soldiers in Tawau became prisoners of war and were transferred to Jesselton. Tawau was rebuilt after the war, and by the end of 1947, the economy was restored to its pre-war status. Tawau was also the main point of conflict during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation from 1963 to 1966. During that period, it was garrisoned by the British Special Boat Section, and guarded by Australian Destroyers and combat aircraft. In December 1963, Tawau was bombed twice by Indonesia and shootings occurred across the Tawau-Sebatik Island international border. Indonesians were found trying to poison the town's water supply. In January 1965, a curfew was imposed to prevent Indonesian attackers from making contact with Indonesians living in the town. While in June 1965, another attempted invasion by the Indonesian forces was repelled by bombardment by an Australian destroyer. Military conflict finally ended in December 1966.

The Sultanate of Bulungan (Jawi: کسلطانن بولوڠن, Indonesian: Kesultanan Bulungan) was a former independent sultanate and later a special territory of Indonesia located in the then existing Bulungan Regency (at that time covering all the territory that now comprises the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia) in the east of the island of Borneo. Its territory spanned the eastern shores of North Kalimantan and Tawau, Malaysia.