SYDNEY Dec 4 Kyodo Australia will...

SYDNEY Dec 4 Kyodo

Australia will join the U missile defense program, Defense Minister Robert Hill said Thursday.

''We have given that careful consideration and we think that we can play a part, obviously a small part in metes of the massive overall program,'' the minister told reporters in Canberra.

''We think that with the proliferation of long-range missiles and inclines towards proliferation of mass destruction warheads, it is a sensible decision for Australia to take,'' Hill said.

Australia, along with other unspecified countries, had been invited by way of the United States to join the program, he said.

The guidance does not envisage a ground-based missile defense combination of parts to form a whole on Australian territory, but it look fors to assist in research with the possibility of incorporating a missile defense method into three new naval air warfare destroyer Hill said.

Australia is making no financial commitment for its involvement and cooperation is likely to begin with radar sensors, after the U showed interest in Australia's over-the-horizon radars, the Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN), which can be used to discover missiles, he said.

The dominion does not expect an immediate missile threat moreover is concerned Australia may single day be threatened by long-range missiles carrying chemical, biological or nuclear warheads, Hill said.

In a statement, the minister said an investment in defensive measures is important. ''Developing this capability will contribute to global, regional and Australian security by way of offering protection from missile attack and dissuading nations from acquiring or developing so weapons.''

Australia has been involved in missile defense for the past 29 years by dint of hosting a ballistic missile early warning region station, the Joint Defense Facility at Nurrungar in southward Australia, and a relay mould station at Pine Gap in the Northern Territory, the statement said.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said ''several countries in unstable regions'' are developing ballistic missiles.

''I want to make this exquisitely clear -- missile defense bodys are purely defensive. This is not an offensive system'' he told parliament. ''It try to finds to protect the territory and forces of the U and its allies from ballistic missile attack and it will help hold back rogue states from acquiring ballistic missile technology.''

Australia has briefed countries in Asia about its decision to join the missile research, he said, adding that Japan and Britain also support the U program.

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