Sulu princess weds Army officer

MANILA, Philippines - The daughter of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III married a Philippine Army officer on Monday amid continuing tension over the clan's claim on Sabah.

Princess Jacel Kiram tied the knot with Major Mohammad Yusoph Hassan in Zamboanga City where members of the family and its supporters gathered to celebrate the occasion.

Jacel said in a report that she and Hassan had been delaying the marriage in sympathy with members of her father's Royal Army fighting for the cause against Malaysian forces in Sabah.

She also said that even with the joyful gathering, the family will not give up in laying claim over the territory, seen as an ancestral land owned by the de facto Sulu monarchs.

The Kiram patriarch, meanwhile, said that no single politician was invited to the wedding to avoid conflicts of interest as well as to avoid any political issue, especially as the May ballot draws near.

He also denied that the clan's caused is backed by any Malaysian official, as the country that has ceded Sabah into its territory is also facing changes brought by their recent national election.

Kiram, who has asked the government for support on the dispute but failed to receive much, said that he still believes that President Benigno Aquino III's administration will eventually assist them in their territorial claim.