Defence Minister Richard Marles says his Indonesian counterpart has assured him Russian war planes will not be based in Indonesia. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Russia has entered Australia’s federal election campaign after a global intelligence company reported the Kremlin had asked Jakarta for permission to station war planes barely 1300 kilometres from Darwin.
The report, appearing in the highly regarded international defence and security journal Janes, sent the Federal Government scrambling for answers while the Federal Opposition raised questions about the effectiveness of diplomatic relations.
Defence Minister Richard Marles was eventually able to confirm, through an urgent call to Jakarta, that the Indonesian Government had dismissed the report as false and had assured Australia it would be taking no Russian war planes.
Mr Marles issued a statement on Tuesday night (15 April) saying he had received that assurance directly from Indonesia’s Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin.
“I have spoken to my counterpart, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, the Minister for Defence, and he has said to me in the clearest possible terms, reports of the prospect of Russian aircraft operating from Indonesia are simply not true,” Mr Marles said.
International news wires have also reported Indonesian government sources clearly stating the Janes report was false.
Anthony Albanese had earlier appeared to be taken by surprise and told reporters his government was seeking to clarify the validity of the report.
However, the Prime Minister stated, “We obviously do not want to see Russian influence in our region” and stressed Australia’s continued support for Ukraine.
“We have a position, which is we stand with Ukraine,” Mr Albanese said.
“We regard Vladimir Putin as an authoritarian leader who has broken international law, who’s attacking the sovereignty of the nation of Ukraine.”
But with just three weeks before Australians decide the next Federal Government, the issue has thrown national security to the forefront of the campaign.
When Peter Dutton was questioned about the Janes report, he said it would be a “catastrophic failure of diplomatic relations” if the Australian Government had not been forewarned about the Russian request.
“This is a very, very troubling development and suggestion that somehow Russia would have some of their assets based in Indonesia only a short distance from, obviously, the north of our country,” the Opposition Leader said.
“We need to make sure that the government explains exactly what has happened here … [Putin] is not welcome in our neighbourhood.
“We have an excellent relationship with the Indonesians. I’ve met with the president [Prabowo Subianto], both when he was defence minister and when he was president-elect. Prabowo is a good friend of Australia.
“But my message to President Putin is that we don’t share any values with President Putin, and we do not want a presence, a military presence, from Russia in our region.”
Moscow’s relationship with Jakarta has become closer in recent times, and the Janes report clearly describes the Kremlin filing an official request with Jakarta for Russian planes, including several long-range aircraft, to be stationed at Biak in the Papua region.
“Jakarta has received an official request from Moscow, seeking permission for Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) aircraft to be based at a facility in Indonesia’s easternmost province,” the news report stated.
“Separate sources from the Indonesian government have confirmed with Janes that the request was received by the office of Minister of Defence Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin following his meeting with Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu in February 2025.
“In the request, Russia seeks to base several long-range aircraft at the Manuhua Air Force Base, which shares a runway with the Frans Kaisiepo Airport, documents that have been presented to Janes reveal.
“The airbase is situated in Biak Numfor in the Indonesian province of Papua, and it is home to the Indonesian Air Force’s Aviation Squadron 27, which operates a fleet of CN235 surveillance aircraft.”
The furore over the Kremlin’s request of Jakarta comes just days after news of Russia’s ambassador to Australia returning home.
Alexey Pavlovsky, who had been Russia’s long-serving ambassador to Canberra, quietly left Australia almost two weeks ago, with no word of his replacement being appointed.
Mr Marles would not disclose what the Federal Government knew about the circumstances of the ambassador’s departure.
