The Philippine government and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front have failed to break a deadlock over the economic control of land in peace talks held in Malaysia, an MILF spokesman said today.

Both sides have failed to resolve "differences" on the scope of "ancestral domain" claims, Eid Kabalu told AFP.

Ancestral domain refers to traditional Islamic land on the main southern island of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago whose resources the MILF want a share of.

The negotiators have already agreed on how to share earnings but the main stumbling block is the number of villages and towns covered by the ancestral domain claim, Kabalu said.

The MILF is claiming more than 1,000 parcels of land while the government is only considering around 600.

Contacts to continue

Kabalu said contacts will continue and both sides may conduct a joint survey to try for a compromise.

"We dont have dates yet but anything is still possible. This does not mean the end of the negotiations," he said.

The talks, which began on Tuesday, are being held at an undisclosed place in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. They end tomorrow.

The 12,000-strong MILF has been waging a separatist rebellion for an Islamic state in Mindanao since 1978, when it split from the larger Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

The MNLF signed a peace deal with Manila in 1996, dropping its separatist ideology for limited self-rule.

President Gloria Arroyo signed a truce with the MILF in 2001 and later engaged the rebels in negotiations with an aim of signing a final accord this year.