The United States, which has nearly 40,000 military personnel in Japan, has ordered a flotilla including two aircraft carriers and support ships to the region to provide aid.

Obama offered condolences in a telephone call to Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan and promised "whatever assistance is needed."

"We currently have an aircraft carrier in Japan, and another is on the way," Obama told a White House news conference. He said another ship was heading to US territories in the Mariana Islands to "assist as needed."

"My understanding is that the main assistance that we're going to be able to provide them is lift capacity: the ability for us to help in the cleanup," Obama said.

A Pentagon spokesman said the two carriers were the USS George Washington, which is based at Yokosuka near Tokyo, and the USS Ronald Reagan, which was en route to South Korea for exercises and has been redirected to Japan. The Reagan is normally accompanied by a guided missile cruiser and a destroyer squadron.

In Washington, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) said it had dispatched a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) and mobilized rescue teams from Los Angeles County and Fairfax County, in northern Virginia.

Each team has about 72 personnel, dogs and some 75 tons of rescue equipment.

USAID spokeswoman Gina Jackson said that the DART team is made up of Americans already in Asia. "It is a mix of people, including some coming back from New Zealand," where they helped after the Christchurch earthquake, she said.

The DART team will arrive in Japan in the next days, but it was still unclear where exactly they will go, Jackson told AFP.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meanwhile said the US government "has offered immediate disaster relief assistance," and is "working closely" with the Japanese government to provide further help.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, currently in the Middle East, said the US military stood ready to help Japan.

"We obviously have huge sympathy for the people of Japan and we're prepared to help them in any way we possibly can," Gates told reporters after arriving in Bahrain.

Calling it a "huge disaster," Gates said initial reports suggested no US military troops were killed or US equipment seriously damaged in the tsunami.

At the Pentagon, spokesman David Lapan said US forces in the Pacific "are assessing the situation and positioning forces so we are ready to respond and provide disaster relief if requested."

Defense Department resources include two amphibious assault ships -- the USS Essex and the USS Boxer -- along with various support vessels. Both assault ships are equipped with helicopters and airplanes.

The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group is currently at sea en route to a scheduled replenishment in Guam, while the Essex, carrying the embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, arrived in Malaysia on Friday and was making preparations for an immediate departure toward Japan.

Another ship, the USS Blue Ridge, a command and control ship, arrived in Singapore and was preparing to depart Saturday, while the USS Tortuga, currently in Sasebo, Japan, is loading up boats used to transport equipment and troops to the shore and could depart later in the day.

Outside of Japan, high waves caused two US Navy submarines to break their mooring lines in Guam, but tug boats responded quickly and crews moored them to the pier, the Navy said.

In California, officials ordered the USS Dubuque, docked south of Los Angeles, out into open water as a precautionary measure due to the tsunami racing across the Pacific.

earlier related report
China rescuers ready for Japan quake
Hong Kong (AFP) March 11, 2011 - US President Barack Obama sent condolences to Japan after its huge earthquake and tsunami Friday, as the United Nations, European Union and China joined Washington in offering help with relief efforts.

Concerned governments across the world said they stood ready to aid Japan in the wake of the 8.9-magnitude quake, which unleashed a devastating 10-metre (30-foot) tsunami that washed away homes and tossed ships inland.

"(First Lady) Michelle (Obama) and I send our deepest condolences to the people of Japan, particularly those who have lost loved ones in the earthquake and tsunamis," Obama said in a statement.

"The United States stands ready to help the Japanese people in this time of great trial. The friendship and alliance between our two nations is unshakable."

Ties between Beijing and Tokyo have been strained in recent months, but Chen Jianmin, head of the China Earthquake Administration, said authorities had already put relief personnel, equipment and medicine in place, "ready to depart for Japan at any time".

Premier Wen Jiabao expressed his "deep sympathy" to the Japanese government and people, and offered any "necessary help" to its neighbour, the foreign ministry said.

Hundreds are reported dead after the quake in northeast Japan, the strongest ever to hit the country, which was felt as far away as Beijing, some 2,500 kilometres (1,500 miles) away.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the global body would "do anything and everything" to help Japan while the EU said it would "mobilise all appropriate assistance". Its executive arm, the European Commission, has funds to deal with emergencies and can also mobilise equipment and experts in natural disasters.

European leaders arriving at an emergency summit on the crisis in Libya said their first thoughts were with Japan.

"The first thing is to offer sympathy and condolences to the Japanese people," British Prime Minister David Cameron said.

"We have had a terrible reminder of the destructive power of nature."

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he "wanted to express our solidarity with the Japanese people.

"I want to tell all the Japanese people that France stands with you in this terrible catastrophe... We will send rescue teams, planes, whatever is needed to help."

Switzerland said it had offered to send aid to Japan. A team of humanitarian experts are ready to leave at short notice.

Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan said his country was ready to "assist Japan in any way at this difficult time", adding that its embassy was "urgently" contacting authorities to see if any nationals had been affected.

South Korea also expressed its sympathy and pledged "every possible support" to help Japan recover, adding that around 40 rescue workers had been put on standby to head to the quake-hit nation.

The Philippines, which was hit by small tsunami waves, said it was anxiously waiting for word on the condition of nearly a quarter million of its citizens living near the epicentre of the quake.

President Benigno Aquino offered his sympathy to Japan and pledged any assistance within the government's capability, recalling Tokyo's unstinting help in the Philippines' own struggles with natural disasters.

In South Asia, India conveyed sympathies and condolences to victims as well as offering assistance.

"We are saddened by the loss of life and extensive damage to property and infrastructure," the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that there were no reports of casualties among the 25,000 Indians in Japan.

Letters of sympathy with offers of assistance had been sent to Japan's prime minister and foreign minister, the statement said.

In Sri Lanka, President Mahinda Rajapakse said Japan was a "very close and dear friend" and its people possessed "incredible resilience and courage" to overcome destruction.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani also said his country was ready to help.

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