Ships and planes from Australia, Britain, France, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States were deployed on day one of the three-day drill in the Sea of Sagami off Tokyo Bay, Japanese officials said.

China and South Korea were notable absentees from Pacific Shield 07, the 23rd drill under the Proliferation Security Initiative put forward by US President George W. Bush in 2003.

Singapore sent only personnel to the joint operation, including mock chases, searches and a simulated chemical spill, which is being watched by observers from 34 countries.

In 2005, China, a close ally of North Korea, decided against joining the initiative, citing concerns that it could violate charters protecting ships from searches and seizure.

But analysts said China was concerned about disrupting progress in six-party talks to dismantle North Korea's nuclear arms programmes. South Korea, which has followed a policy of reconciliation with the North, also stayed away.

PSI has been backed by 15 core countries, including the United States, Russia, Japan, France, Germany and Britain. Some 60 other nations have been cooperating with it.

US installs missile-tracking system in Japan
US forces deployed a mobile missile-tracking station in Japan for the first time Friday, officials said, as part of efforts to defend against a potential attack from North Korea.

The Joint Tactical Ground Station was being set up at the Misawa base in Aomori, the northernmost prefecture of Japan's most populous island of Honshu.

It is the first time the US military has deployed the mobile unit in Japan, although one is already in South Korea, said Yutaka Shirasawa, an official at Japan's defence ministry.

The system consists of a vehicle equipped with three satellite antennas and information-processing equipment, which is meant to send news of any incoming missile to the US military and Japanese defence ministry.

It will be operated by 18 US servicepeople from an army base in the western US state of Colorado, Shirasawa said, adding the local government was informed of the deployment Thursday.

Tokyo and Washington launched work on a missile defence shield for Japan after North Korea shocked the world in 1998 by firing a long-range missile over Japan into the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific allies have continued to work on developing the shield despite ongoing negotiations with North Korea, which has agreed to end its nuclear drive in return for aid and diplomatic benefits.

But local authorities and media had criticised the deployment, saying they were not sufficiently informed.

"The US military might not be able to disclose military secrets. However, we should not just let it be," the local To-o Nippo newspaper said in an editorial before the deployment.

"The mayor must press the US military and the (Japanese) government to give us detailed explanation."

In March, Japan for the first time installed Patriot surface-to-air missile interceptors in the Tokyo area.

The United States last year installed Japan's first anti-missile system on the southern island of Okinawa, the hub of the 40,000 US troops in Japan.

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