Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer on Tuesday said Australia will suspend defense ties with Fiji at an "appropriate point when the (Fiji) prime minister is clearly not the prime minister any more."

Downer's statement came after Fiji's Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase was holed up in his residence in the country's capital of Suva while troops took control of the city.

"We are seeing a coup in progress, I call it a creeping coup, it's moving ahead hour by hour, day by day," Downer said.

"We would suspend the defense cooperation program altogether," he said.

"Over and above that, we would stop Fiji military personnel from visiting Australia and any personnel and the families of people who participate in any interim government," he added.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has refused Qarase's request for military help.

But Downer said Australia had ships on standby in case it was necessary to evacuate Australian citizens.

Meanwhile, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has reissued its travel warning for Fiji, telling Australians in Suva they should consider leaving.

DFAT also urged Australians to reconsider traveling to the Pacific nation because of the volatile security situation.

Source: Xinhua