DAVAO CITY - President-elect Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday defended his stance on the Philippines' claim to Sabah after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak warned the new chief executive against reigniting the issue.

Duterte said he was just echoing the Philippine government’s original position when he vowed earlier this week that he will pursue the nation's claim to Sabah.

“I’m not reigniting anything. We’ll stick with the original position of the government. Nothing has changed,” Duterte told reporters.

Duterte said the Philippines under his administration will pursue its claim “but only by peaceful means. We don’t have the luxury of getting in trouble. We cannot afford it.”

The Philippines stakes its claim to Sabah by citing an 1878 land lease agreement between the Sultanate of Sulu and the British North Borneo Chartered Co.

The Philippines maintains that the agreement was only for the leasing of the land and did not render Sabah part of Malaysia when it was formed into a federation in 1963.