The Okinawa government's division for US base affairs contacted the Pentagon early Friday following a report in the Los Angeles Times Thursday that the United States is planning a broad realignment of troops in Asia that may include moving 15,000 of the 20,000 marines currently in Okinawa.

"It is being considered but is not a final decision," a Pentagon press officer, reached by the Okinawa government official via an interpreter was quoted as saying.

The Pentagon press officer said "you should carefully read the key words," the Okinawan official, who declined to be named, told AFP.

The newspaper said the United States was considering moving "all but about 5,000" of the 20,000 marines on the main island of Okinawa to new bases that would be established in Australia.

The Pentagon press officer told the Okinawan offical this means it was just "an idea," while admitting: "We have talked about this." Okinawa hosts two-thirds of 47,000 US troops in Japan.

A US embassy official told AFP separately: "As part of global realignment of US forces, there will be changes in Asia."

"We are looking at our current posture in Korea and Japan and have established mechanisms for discussing realignments with these two key allies," the official said, noting: "No final decisions have been made."

"Realignments will enhance, not reduce, our deterrent posture and military capabilities to respond to a range of threats," the official said.

The newspaper also reported the United States was considering increasing the presence of US troops in Singapore and Malaysia; and seeking agreements to base Navy ships in Vietnamese waters and station ground troops in the Philippines.

But the embassy official said the article contained "a number of inaccurate or misleading statements: for example, no plans to place ground troops in the Philippines, base ships in Vietnam, or move most of Okinawa marines to Australia."

"The story seriously overstates the extent to which decisions have been made about new bases or operational arrangements in Asia."

"Any new arrangements would require careful consultation with the countries involved," the official said.

Japanese government officials said Friday they had no knowledge of the reported realignment plan in Asia.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Tokyo "has received no briefing by the US side" on such a plan.

For South Korea, the newspaper said the Pentagon was hoping to begin moving Army troops away from the demilitalised zone and out of Seoul by October.

From the end of World War II until 1972, Okinawa was under US military occupation. It still hosts two-thirds of the 47,000-strong US troops stationed here under bi-lateral accords.

A string of violent crimes committed by US soldiers over recent years, including the 1995 gang rape of a 12-year-old girl by three servicemen, have fuelled residents' resentment of their presence, even though the bases provide jobs in the region with the highest unemployment in the country.

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