The United States defence department says the financial crisis in east Asia has underscored the need for keeping one-hundred-thousand American troops in the Asia-Pacific Region.

It says the American military presence helps maintain the stability needed for economic recovery and gives the United States the ability to respond to crises and shape events.

Introducing the report, the defence secretary, William Cohen, also cites the troubles in Indonesia, nuclear tests by India and Pakistan and concern over North Korea's nuclear weapons potential as eroding confidence across the region since the previous review in 1995.