Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar on Wednesday urged the United States not to undermine the peace process between the Philippines and the largest Muslim separatist group in the south.

He was commenting on an allegation that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), with whom the Philippines is set to start peace talks next week, may have ties to two al-Qaeda-linked groups.

"I think these are all allegations. There is no proof," Syed Hamid said.

"I think we should not undermine the process. It is a good process. It creates confidence for the people."

The alert over the MILF was raised by a delegation of visiting US officials, including Admiral William Fallon, head of the US Pacific Command, according to Philippines presidential executive secretary Eduardo Ermita.

"We have been receiving information from the Americans about the link of MILF and Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf," Ermita said, referring to two Islamic militant groups with alleged ties to the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden.

President Gloria Arroyo's government is to begin talks with the MILF in Malaysia on April 18.

Ancestral domain

The 12,000-member MILF has been waging an armed campaign since 1978 to set up a Muslim state on the southern third of the mainly Roman Catholic Philippines.
On the meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Syed Hamid said the most important issue Manila and the MILF would attempt to resolve was the issue of ancestral domain.

"We hope the peace process will continue and achieve results. But there can't be a deadline because there are difficult issues to be resolved," he said.

Manila is observing a 2003 ceasefire with the MILF, with Malaysia and several other Organization of the Islamic Conference states providing a small group of ceasefire monitors in the south.