By Matthew Knott
The specialist military publication that first reported an alleged push by Russia to base long-range aircraft in Indonesia says it stands by the accuracy of its story as Jakarta says it welcomes visits from friendly foreign militaries.
The saga has continued to buffet the Coalition’s election campaign, with Nationals frontbencher Bridget McKenzie making a series of gaffes about Russia and China’s attitudes to Australia and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton admitting at a leaders debate that he had made a false claim about the request.
Nationals frontbencher Bridget McKenzie said she did not have evidence for her claims Russia and China had disparaged Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Military publication Janes first reported earlier this week that Russia had requested to base long-range warplanes in Indonesia, which Australia’s neighbour disputed as the issue erupted into the election campaign.
Ridzwan Rahmat, the senior journalist who reported the story, said in a statement: “We at Janes stand by this story and it is accurate.
“This story was written following a few weeks of speaking to well-placed sources within the Indonesian government.
“Furthermore, to protect these sources, we will not release this information or further details of these conversations.”
The publication, which began publishing books and magazines in 1898, has a loyal following in the defence and national security community.
Quoting anonymous Indonesian government sources and documents, Janes reported that Russia had asked to base several long-range aircraft at the Manuhua Air Force Base at Biak Island in the province of Papua.
In his first statement on the matter, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Rolliansyah Soemirat said that “Indonesia has never granted permission to any country to build or possess a military base in Indonesia”.
Leaving open the prospect of regular Russian military visits to Indonesia, Soemirat added: “As a country with a longstanding tradition of a free and active foreign policy, Indonesia will receive and permit military aircraft or vessels from other nations on peaceful missions to visit Indonesia.”
Russia and Indonesia held their first joint naval exercises last November in a sign of deepening defence ties under Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said on Wednesday that the Janes report was “absolutely untrue” and Indonesia would “not allow foreign military bases on our soil.”
Russia’s ambassador to Indonesia Sergei Tolchenov issued a lengthy statement on Wednesday evening that did not deny Moscow was seeking to base military aircraft in Indonesia and appeared to provide justification for such a move.
“Military co-operation is an integral part of the intergovernmental relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Indonesia,” Tolchenov said.
Former Home Affairs Department secretary Mike Pezzullo said semantics could explain the conflicting claims, and that Russia was clearly interested in deepening military ties with Indonesia.
“We shouldn’t assume that the Russians asked for a base or even a lease for a base,” he said. “The key is being able to operate from that airfield [on Biak Island] which is strategically located.”
In an ABC television interview on Tuesday, McKenzie claimed when asked about the topic that “the defence minister of Russia [Andrey Belousov] and the Chinese leader [Xi Jinping] both have made very public comments that they do not want to see Peter Dutton as the prime minister of our country”.
The Coalition transport and infrastructure spokesman later told this masthead: “I made a mistake, I was wrong with what I said about the Russian defence minister and Chinese leader.”
Asked the Today program on Thursday why she had made the initial claim, McKenzie said: “Well, I think it’s pretty clear from President Xi’s public commentary that he finds Albo a very handsome boy.”
In fact, it was Chinese Premier Li Qiang, not Xi, who called Albanese a “handsome boy” in 2023.
Senior Labor ministers went on the attack against Dutton on Wednesday, branding him reckless and unfit for high office for falsely claiming that Prabowo had publicly announced that Moscow was seeking to base long-range aircraft in Indonesia.
After refusing to back down from his comments at a press conference on Wednesday, Dutton conceded in the leaders’ debate that night that he had made a mistake and was relying on anonymous sources quoted in the Janes article.
Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson told Sky News that the Russian ambassador to Indonesia’s statement “very clearly implies that the request was made from Russia to Indonesia” and demanded the government provide a briefing, as promised, to the opposition on the matter.
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