An EU delegation has urged the Philippine government and rebels to find a lasting solution to the armed conflict that has plagued the country's southern region for nearly 50 years.

"The EU believes that the timing is right for a decisive push toward an agreement and such an opportunity must not be missed," the delegation said in a written statement after visiting Cotabato, a city of around 300,000 on the west coast of the Philippines' southern Mindanao Island.

The visit to the region is to bolster efforts by both sides to end their open conflict that has claimed thousands of lives over the past half century or more.

The EU also pledged another $4.3 million toward redevelopment and humanitarian projects in the region, on top of the $214 million it already has pumped into the region since 1990.

The funding is meant "to improve the response to conflict-affected populations' humanitarian needs and enhance the respect for their humanitarian and human rights," the delegation's statement said.

The visit comes after severe fighting in October between government troops and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on the nearby island of Basilan. Thousands of villagers fled their homes after clashes killed more than 20 government troops, a report by The Manila Times said.

"Our visit to Mindanao demonstrates the EU's strong support for the Mindanao peace process," said Guy Ledoux, EU ambassador to the Philippines.

"A peaceful settlement to the conflict there is essential for the Philippines' economic and social development and we commend the government of the Philippines and MILF panels on their efforts so far."

Members of the EU delegation included ambassadors from Austria, Spain, the United Kingdom as well representatives from Belgium, France and Germany.

"The EU commends the parties as well as the International Monitoring Team for their resolve to keep the peace process on track despite the tragic incidents of October 2011 in Basilan," Ledoux said.

Peace talks between the government in Manila and the MILF have come and gone over the past two decades, with fighting flaring up during periods of estrangement.

President Benigno Aquino won the national election in June 2010 partly on a platform of promising to kick-start stalled negotiations with several militant groups.

"If it is peace you truly desire, then we are ready to call for an immediate cease-fire," he said during his inauguration. "Let us go back to the table and begin talking again."

Aquino's main focus has been the MILF, the largest rebel group, but other rebel groups demanding independence have been fighting the government.

One of the worst assaults took place in February 2010 when an Abu Sayyaf band killed at least 11 people, including a 1-year-old child, in what may have been a revenge attack on the island of Basilan, southwest of Mindanao.

Government forces have had successes. In January 2010, government troops killed an Abu Sayyaf leader, Imram Asgari, in a clash in a village about 20 miles outside Zamboanga City.