Australian Prime Minister John Howard said the Australian government has not made a decision on further troop deployment in Afghanistan.

His statements came following reports that Australia is likely to nearly double its troop numbers in the Asian country by sending 450 extra troops to join more than 500 personnel already there.

"We are looking at the situation, and as (Defense Minister) Doctor (Brendan) Nelson indicated this morning, there are some people over there having a look at it," Howard told reporters in Perth, capital of the state of Western Australia.

"I don't rule out some increase there but the government has not made that decision," he said.

Australia currently has some 550 troops inside Afghanistan, including 370 as members of the reconstruction task force engaged in development projects in Oruzgan province in south-central Afghanistan.

Nelson said earlier Thursday that a small defense force survey team would travel to Afghanistan to determine the shape of a larger commitment.

Nelson said it was important that the Taliban were prevented from regaining a stronghold in Afghanistan.

Last year saw the toughest fighting across southern Afghanistan since the Taliban regime was ousted in late 2001.

The Australian Labor Party, the country's main opposition party, has persistently opposed Australian involvement in the Iraq conflict, but it has backed an Australian presence in Afghanistan.

Source: Xinhua