The Hawke-Smith report says that faced with Pacific power shifts, Australia must boost cooperation and engagement with the US and other regional partners.
Australia regards the US as its most important defence partner and the alliance as a guarantor of both regional stability and the nation's own security.
Some analysts believe the Government also sees greater US presence in Australia as a potential tripwire for American intervention in the event of attack, at present limited by self-interest and the Guam doctrine requiring countries to tend to their own defence.
The only time Australia sought US help under the Anzus treaty, in the 1960s face off with Indonesia, it was refused.
The Hawke-Smith report said Australia should expand its Stirling naval base near Perth, both for its own growing fleet of warships and submarines and for American nuclear vessels.
In the longer term, a new base could be built in the east, probably Queensland, for the navy's new amphibious ships and planned new submarines, and to allow further US operations.
The report noted that Brisbane was rated for nuclear-powered warships.
Although Washington is secretive about its submarine operations and refuses to confirm or deny the presence of nuclear weapons, US submarines visit the Stirling base and a Los Angeles class fast attack vessel, nuclear-powered and able to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles, took part in last year's big Talisman Sabre exercise off Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Faced with the rise of China and India, the US is swinging its focus from Europe, insulating the Pacific from military budget cuts of US$487 billion ($603 billion) over the next decade.
While it will prune the army and marines, and trim its navy by retiring warships earlier than planned, the US will keep its 11 aircraft carriers, six of which are in the Pacific Fleet. The fleet also includes more than 30 ballistic missile and attack nuclear submarines.
The Hawke-Smith report said a key Australian focus was increased defence visibility in the north to counter perceptions of weakness, and to overcome potential problems defending a region that holds vast mineral and energy reserves, including huge natural gas projects in Western Australia.
The report also recommends boosting capacity at other bases in Darwin and Cairns, and increased navy use of commercial ports such as Exmouth, Dampier, Port Hedland and Broome.
And some northern air force bases should also be beefed up to handle large transports and the planned new joint strike fighters, it said.
Increased cooperation with New Zealand was also important, Australia's global commitments such as Afghanistan needing to be balanced with its prime responsibility of defending the continent and dealing with crises in the region.
"If there's a difficulty in the South Pacific, whether stability, security, hum-anitarian assistance or disaster relief, the world looks to Australia to lead the response together with New Zealand," Defence Minister Stephen Smith said.
The report also said Australia might have to up its Antarctic presence as competition for resources grew, maybe with ice-hardened warships similar to New Zealand's offshore patrol vessels.
