MANILA - "It's an isolated case. It will not in anyway affect the upcoming peace talks."

This was the statement of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Avelino I. Razon Jr. Friday on the gun battle that erupted between government forces and a big group of Abu Sayyaf terrorists and with some elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Basilan last Wednesday.

Razon said he was looking forward for the resumption of peace talks between the government peace panel headed by Ambassador Rafael E. Seguis and the MILF panel led by Mohagher Iqbal in Malaysia shortly.

Seguis echoed the same statement made by Razon on the latest incident in the town of Silangkum, Tipo-Tipo, Basilan.

He said he did not see any hindrance that the forthcoming peace negotiation would not push through "just because of this incident which the government considers as an isolated one.

The eight-hour fierce fighting killed 21 Abu Sayyaf, including nine MILF rebels who joined the gun battle and 23 government troopers. The fighting occurred near a base of the MILF in Basilan.

Seguis also said he welcomed the statement of Jaafar Ghadzali, MILF vice chairman, who also considered the Basilan armed clash an isolated case and would not affect the peace talks scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur soon.

Ghadzali issued the statement in an interview with veteran broadcaster Joe Taruc over radio station DZRH this morning.

"This is a positive development," Seguis said, referring to the statement of Ghadzali.

At any rate, he said he will get in touch with Armed Forces chief of staff Victor Ibrado regarding the latest fighting in Basilan.

The gun battle erupted after government forces conducted a mopping up operation against the Abu Sayyaf terror group holed up in the jungle of Tipo-Tipo town.

Intelligence report disclosed that the Abu Sayyaf jungle base was used by the terrorist group in the manufacture of improvised explosive device.

The GRP-MILF talks were suspended a year ago following the aborted signing of the controversial Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD).

However, during the suspension of formal peace talks the government and MILF continued back-channeling efforts to revive the negotiations.

Their joint efforts paid off when the two sides agreed to resume the stalled peace talks to find a lasting solution to the long-drawn Mindanao conflict, Razon said.