The talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front will take place in Malaysia on February 9-10, the first formal negotiations between the two sides since President Benigno Aquino was elected to office last year.

"The government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have put the peace negotiations back on track," a government statement said.

The head of the government peace panel, Marivic Leonen, said the parties agreed to restart the talks during informal negotiations in Kuala Lumpur on January 13.

Previous peace talks collapsed in 2008 after the Supreme Court outlawed a draft peace settlement that would have given the MILF control over large areas of the mineral-rich southern island of Mindanao.

The 12,000-strong MILF has began waging a rebellion since 1978 for an independent Muslim state on Mindanao, which makes up the southern third of the largely Catholic Philippines.

The Supreme Court's decision triggered attacks by MILF commanders on Christian communities in Mindanao. The resulting surge in violence displaced 750,000 people and left nearly 400 people dead, according to official data.

More than 150,000 people have died since 1978 due to the rebellion, according to the government.