The Federal Government says Chinese troops will not be welcome in Australia to guard the Olympic torch relay as it passes through Canberra in late April.

China has reportedly asked for its army to provide the security after pro-Tibetan protesters disrupted the lighting of the torch in Greece earlier this week.

Attorney-General Robert McClelland says he is not aware of any official request from China, but says any offer of assistance would not be accepted.

"The short answer is no," he said.

"Australia takes responsibility for its own security, and that is the case whether we're dealing with a visiting dignitary from overseas, whether we're dealing with APEC, whether we're dealing with a national or international sporting event."

Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith has asked his department to look into whether China has made such a request.

Earlier Mr Smith stood firm in his opposition to any boycott of the Beijing Olympics amid international concern over handling of the protests in Tibet and neighbouring parts of China.

"In the past boycotts of the Olympics, in my view, have not been successful, whether Australia's engaged in that or when other nation states have engaged in it," he said.

"The Olympics is a chance to put the spotlight on China but also to enhance China's engagement with the international community."

At least two people were reported dead in fresh protests in a Tibetan part of western China and authorities made arrests in Tibet's capital Lhasa in an effort to reassert control over the restive region.

State media said one police officer was killed and the exiled Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy reported one Tibetan protester was shot dead and another critically hurt after unrest in Sichuan's Ganzi (Garze) Tibetan Prefecture.