Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1000 GMT, March 24

Australia formed a parliamentary committee to investigate a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with China.

The Senate inquiry, which was announced on Tuesday afternoon, will look into the agreement's impact on Australia's economy and trade, domestic labor market, investment and cultural policies. ( Australia-China-FTA)

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NEW DELHI -- India's Mars mission has completed six months in space and all scientific instruments are in good working condition, sources said Tuesday.

"The mission, called Mangalyaan, uses nearly two kgs of fuel every year and 37 kgs of fuel is still there to be exhausted. So, the mission is expected to last long," the sources said. (India- Mars Mission)

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TOKYO -- Tussle between Japan's central government and Okinawa Prefecture over the relocation of a U.S. military base is escalating on Tuesday, as Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the work is not be halted.

"There is no reason to stop the operation at this moment," Yoshihide Suga, who is also in charge of the reduction of Okinawa' s military burden, told a press conference. (Japan-U.S.-Airbase)

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SEOUL -- The South Korean military plans to deploy its new multiple rocket launchers, named Cheonmu in Korean,in the second half of this year in areas bordering the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Yonhap News Agency reported Tuesday.

A South Korean military official was quoted by Yonhap as saying that the next-generation multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) will be deployed in the Army's frontline corps from the second half of this year as its development was completed. (South Korea-Multiple Rocket Launchers) Endi