Australian Prime Minister John Howard has pledged forcefully not to reduce the number of Australian troops serving in Iraq despite growing calls in his country to withdraw.

"Australian soldiers will remain in Iraq . . . not based on any calendar but based on conditions on the ground," Howard said during a joint news conference with US President George Bush. "We believe that progress is being made in Iraq, and we do not believe this is any time to signal a scaling down of Australian forces."

But he insisted that although Australian troops may later serve in more of a training capacity, "their commitment, their level . . . will not change under a government that I lead."

"We believe that at a time like this, a close ally and friend such as Australia should be providing the maximum presence and indication of support to our very close ally and friend in the president of the United States," added Howard.

Bush said he saw crucial security and political progress in Iraq and vowed to "hang in there" despite steep pressure to pull US forces out, insisting it was not the time to give up.

Bush arrived in Sydney late Tuesday and is scheduled to spend four days in Australia, meeting with officials and attending the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

Australia has about 1,500 troops in Iraq, about 500 of them in combat roles. The United States has more than 160,000 troops in the country, and Britain has about 5,500.

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