Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Lauro Baja said the subject was raised in discussions on the effects of international media on security issues during the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Bangkok last month.

The press coverage of the abduction by Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremists of more than a dozen foreign and local hostages on southern Jolo island showed the negative impact of the media in the age of globalization, Baja quoted Jayakumar as saying.

The press coverage had "complicated negotiations and limited government courses of actions and options," Jayakumar said.

Baja said he could not disagree with Jayakumar, since press coverage of the crisis "really complicated matters for the Philippine government."

The crisis began on April 23 when the Abu Sayyaf kidnapped 21 Asian and western hostages from a Malaysian resort and took them to Jolo.

Foreign and local journalists flocked to the island to cover the incident, with some of them later also being kidnapped or robbed when they visited the kidnappers' hideout to seek interviews.

Other journalists are reported to have paid sizable sums to the Abu Sayyaf in exchange for interviews with the hostages and pictures.

Three French television journalists who went to the Abu Sayyaf hideout to interview the hostages on July 9 are still being held by the extremists. A sizable ransom is being demanded for their release.

Last weekend, almost all journalists pulled out from Jolo following reports they could also be targetted for abduction.

The ARF is Asia's only regional security form and includes Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Russia, and the United States and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.