US Secretary of State Colin Powell (L) meets with Thai Foreign Minister Surakiat Sathirathai. (Xinhua/AFP)

The establishment of an early tsunami system topped talks between US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Thai Foreign Minister Surakiat Sathirathai on Tuesday.

"We would like to have expertise and technical assistance from the United States to install an early warning system in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea," Surakiart said at a press conference.

The Thai foreign minister made the statements at a press conference with US Secretary of State Colin Powell who is at the outset of his trip to Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, three countries with heavy damage and loss of life in the powerful earthquake and tsunamis.

Powell said that his visit was aimed at demonstrating US commitment to the nations of the region and to make an assessment of the situation in the disaster-hit areas and see whatelse the US government might need to do.

"The United States will certainly not turn away from those desperate need," he said.

However, he said his government now has no plan to upscale aid to the disaster-affected nations.

"We made it clear all last week we would do what is necessary and we will scale up as it is necessary to scale up," Powell said.

The US government has promised some 350 million US dollars for disaster relief, which have been used to handle aftermath of the catastrophe that claimed nearly 150,000 lives and left millions of people homeless