Malaysia remains committed to pushing for peace in the troubled southern Philippines despite a scheduled pull-out of its monitors, Army Chief General Abdul Aziz Zainal said today.

"As far as Malaysia is concerned, we are not abandoning the peace process in the south," the visiting military chief told reporters.

"Malaysia will continue to take on the commitment," said Aziz, who was due to meet with his contingent in southern Mindanao island at the weekend to discuss their impending withdrawal in September.

Malaysia has led an international team tasked with monitoring a truce between Manila and the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has waged a bloody campaign for a separate Muslim homeland since 1978.

The team also includes peacekeepers from Muslim nations Libya and Brunei as well as observers from Japan.

Less clashes

Aziz said his government was negotiating a possible redeployment under a new "format" that may see a limited number of Malaysian forces remain in the Philippines.

The presence of the international monitors in Mindanao has led to a drop in the number of clashes, from 589 incidents in 2004 to only 15 violations last year, Filipino military chief Hermogenes Esperon said.

Aziz insisted the truce would hold following the Malaysian pull-out, even though MILF leaders have warned of possible fresh violence.

"We are very confident that the situation will continue to improve," he said.

Malaysian officials had earlier cited an impasse in peace talks between the MILF and the government as a reason for the withdrawal.

In a major breakthrough, both parties last year signed an agreement to create a Muslim homeland in the south. But the talks bogged down amid disputes over economic control of areas covered under the so-called "ancestral domain".