Philippine marines from the 3rd Battalion resume patrols around a former Moro Islamic Liberation Front stronghold on March 31, 2004 near Pikit on the troubled southern island of Mindanao, Philippines. On Sunday, a Malaysian advance peace monitoring team visited the region and the MILF were allowed to re-occupy former bases in the area only for the meeting. Various Muslim separatists have been fighting government forces for the past three decades in the resource rich southern island. Formal…