Countries join WMD global exercise (Photo: Stripes)

The Exercise Pacific Protector is a four-day workshop designed to assist in the prevention of the illicit trade of 'weapons of mass destruction.'

The operation comes as part of Australia's International commitment to the Proliferation Security Initiative to identify security threats in the Indo-Pacific region.  'This is an exercise where countries from around the region get together to practice procedures to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,' Joint Operations Command Steven Hanrahan said.

Globally 105 countries are involved in the Proliferation Security Initiative, launched in 2003 by US President George W. Bush.