The Philippines government is in a tough spot, trying to find a way out of a long conflict with a Muslim separatist group on the island of Mindanao.

Mindanao is the second largest of the Philippines' 7,107 islands, and Muslims make up 5 percent of the country's 91 million people. The island group is the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, whose fight with the government has taken 120,000 lives and displaced 270,000 people.

The United States is concerned for the Philippines, which it ruled from 1898 when it took the islands from Spain, until 1946 when the nation gained full independence. Washington has provided the government with military aid, including hundreds of U.S. military trainers, to fight Islamic separatists on Mindanao as part of the war on terror. The United States also has promised aid for Mindanao if peace is established and the American oil company ExxonMobil pursues oil and gas exploration offshore in the southern Philippines.

Absent a military victory by the Philippine armed forces, which are supported by U.S. advisers, neighboring Malaysia has mediated an accord between the Philippine government and the MILF. It was to have been signed this month and would have provided for an expansion of power and territory controlled by Muslim provincial authorities. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was blocked from signing it by the country's Supreme Court, acting in response to a suit by the leaders of Christian-controlled provinces.

The Muslims say sign or fight, and the Philippine military says it is willing to fight but has shown little aptitude for it even with U.S. assistance. Ms. Macapagal-Arroyo's Christian opposition threatens her hold on power by protesting her apparent willingness to cede more authority and land to a Muslim organization. The matter is complicated by the fact that the president's opponents suspect she will take the constitutional modification necessary to settle with the MILF as an opportunity to extend her term.

The best outcome would be a Supreme Court decision upholding the accord or an amendment to the constitution making the change possible. A ruling is expected this month. Then, the good offices of the Malaysians should be re-enlisted to achieve signature of the accord.

The United States should stay out of this tangle. Neither history, nor the war on terrorism as waged in the Philippines, nor the interests of ExxonMobil would justify further U.S. intervention -- apart from encouraging the Malaysians to stay the course in their mediation effort.