Howard said he had not been asked by Washington to provide bases for US forces, although he could not rule out that some in the US military might want to make such a proposal.

"It hasn't been raised with me. It hasn't been raised with the defense minister," Howard said when asked about the reports during a radio interview.

"The Pentagon is a very big place and you can get a comment out of the Pentagon from somebody on just about anything you like," he said.

"If the Americans had a proposition, they would need to put in the proper fashion and we would consider it. But I am not saying yes or no.

"The thing has not come up," he said.

He was referring to US media reports this week detailing Washington's plans to realign its overseas military bases in light of changing strategic priorities following September 11 and the war in Iraq.

The reports said as many as 15,000 troops could be located in Australia, which has not had foreign military forces based on its soil since World War II but does host a major US electronic intelligence gathering outpost.

Defense Minister Robert Hill said he would discuss the US forces reorganization this weekend when he meets US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz during a regional security meeting in Singapore.

"I want to talk to Mr Wolfowitz about US plans for forward deployment in the region, to hear his plans in relation to changes to basing," he said before leaving for Singapore.

But Hill denied a report in the Los Angeles Times which on Thursday suggested the US could base up to 15,000 Marines in Australia.

The report quoted US defense officials saying the US wanted to relocate up to 20,000 troops from bases in Japan to smaller ones in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.

It also said Australia and Vietnam were "openly seeking a US military presence and the security and economic benefits that American bases could bring".

WAR.WIRE