The Australian government has confirmed reports that the United States eyes a territory of the country for its spy plane operations but clarified that the plan will not be implemented soon enough.

The possibility of long-range spy drones being launched from Cocos Islands, an Australian territory that lies in the Indian Ocean, has been confirmed Tuesday night by Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Ms Gillard, however, said that negotiations on the matter were still underway and no clear progress has been reached so far, as reported by The Australian.

Also, the office of Defence Minister Stephen Smith has admitted that the U.S. military leadership has sounded off the likelihood of surveillance operations by the lone superpower coming from an Australian location but a spokesman for the minister stressed that such consideration was not in the immediate radar of Australian and U.S. officials.

In an interview with ABC on Wednesday, Smith said that talks on the use of Cocos Islands were mostly preliminary and the plan's eventual implementation could be characterised for now as a long-term prospect.

"Australia should not get ahead of itself ... (and while) Cocos is a possibility, it's a long-term prospect," Smith told ABC.

What occupies the priorities of Australian and U.S. officials at this time, Smith said, were the orderly deployment of U.S. Marines in Darwin and the preparation of the HMAS Stirling for the exercise use by U.S. combat planes, warships and submarines.

According to The Washington Post, Pentagon has been seriously mulling the use of Cocos Islands as base of operations for Global Hawk spy drones but Smith said that for such idea to become a realisation, expensive infrastructure undertakings must first be rolled out.

By his own estimates, the U.S. and Australia will have to jointly bankroll build ups of up to $100 million in order to put up a suitable air facilities in the territory.

"There would have to be a substantial infrastructure upgrade so far as the airfield is concerned ... but no one is proposing or suggesting that occur in the first instance or near future," Smith was quoted by the Australian Associated Press (AAP) as saying.

Also, the minister stressed anew that Australia's ramped up security cooperation with America was not designed to address the perceived growing influence of China in the Asia-Pacific region.

China is the country's biggest trading partner and Australia is not in the business of containing the world's second biggest economy, Smith said.

Australia's actions, the defence chief said, were parallel with China's declaration that it supports the creation of 'harmonious environment' in the region.

"What we do want to ensure is that China, as it emerges as a great power, (will become) a responsible stakeholder," The Australian reported Smith as saying.