17 September 1888 (Established as a protectorate by the British) 23 November 1971 (Self-government granted from the British Empire) 1 January 1984 (Independence from the British Empire proclaimed for Brunei)
31 August 1957 (Independence from the British Empire proclaimed for the Federation of Malaya) 16 September 1963 (Proclamation of Malaysia)
Relations between the two countries has been established since January 1984.[5]
Cultural links
Brunei and Malaysia have many similarities in culture especially in the East Malaysian areas as they were once a part of the Bruneian Empire. In 2011, around 61,470 Bruneians visited Malaysia[5] while Brunei received 1,238,871 Malaysian tourists in 2013.[6]
Before 2009, Malaysia's land boundary with Brunei around Limbang was in dispute.[7] Brunei and Malaysia agreed to cease gas and oil exploration in their disputed offshore and deep water seabeds until negotiations progressed into an agreement over allocation of disputed areas in 2003.[8] In March 2009, it seemed a solution was achieved between the two governments when the Malaysian press reported that Brunei dropped all claims to Limbang, thus recognising it as a Malaysian territory.[9] Brunei however immediately denied Malaysian press reports, saying the Limbang Question was never discussed during negotiations for the Exchange of Letters.[10]
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