The decision to deploy the troops -- from the 2nd Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles based in nearby Brunei -- was taken at a meeting of the government's southeast Asia emergency committee, chaired for the first time by Blair.

No decision was taken on exactly where the troops will go and what job they will do, pending the outcome of discussions with Indonesian officials, a Downing Street spokesman said.

Late last week Britain dispatched a Royal Navy frigate and naval repair ship towards Sri Lanka and the Maldives to help in the wake of the deadly December 26 tsunami.

It also assigned a C-17 military transport plane to ferry supplies to Indonesia, the nation hardest hit by the tidal waves triggered by a powerful undersea earthquake with 94,100 dead, mainly in Aceh province.

The 2nd Batallion Royal Gurkha Rifles, which recruits most of its soldiers from eastern Nepal, is the latest in a rotation of British army Gurkha units stationed in Brunei.

A Downing Street spokesman said Tuesday: "Following this morning's daily coordination meeting on the post-tsunami relief effort, the government has formally offered the Indonesian Government the assistance of a company of British Army Gurkhas from 2nd Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles -- around 120 personnel and two helicopters."

"The company is currently based in Brunei," he said. "We will be discussing the details and timing of the deployment with the Indonesian government. This is in addition to the ships and aircraft we have already committed to the relief operation in the Indian Ocean."

Tuesday's meeting was the first to be chaired by Blair since he returned Monday from a winter holiday in Egypt that he refused to cut short on account of the disaster.

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