Troubled waters as Russians send warships

TWO frigates and a patrol aircraft have been sent to monitor a fleet of Russian warships that has ­arrived in waters to Australia’s north.

TWO frigates and a patrol aircraft have been sent to monitor a fleet of Russian warships that has ­arrived in waters to Australia’s north, in an apparent show of force by Vladimir Putin ahead of his arrival in Brisbane for the G20 summit this weekend.

Senior sources said the Russian fleet’s arrival followed moves in recent weeks to send bombers ­towards NATO airspace in ­Europe, towards the US and over Japanese territorial waters.

The ADF has been monitoring the Russians’ progress for a week.

Guided missile cruiser Var­yag — named after the country’s ­Viking ancestors, the Varangian people — is leading the contingent south in international waters. It is accompanied by destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov and one of the world’s most powerful tugs, the Fotiy Krylov. Supply tanker Boris Butoma is also heading south towards Australia’s east coast as part of the dispatch.

The arrival of the ships comes after weeks of tension between Mr Putin and Tony Abbott, including the Prime Minister’s vow to “shirt-front” the Russian leader over the shooting down of flight MH17, which killed 38 Australians.

INTERACTIVE: G20 explained

At a 15-minute bilateral meeting in Beijing on Tuesday, Mr ­Abbott told Mr Putin that Australia believed MH17 was destroyed by a missile from a launcher that had come from Russia. He said that, if this was true, it would be “a very serious matter’’ and urged him to apologise and make ­appropriate restitution.

On Tuesday the Russian warships were near Bougainville when they turned south. Royal Australian Navy frigates HMAS Parramatta and HMAS Stuart were sent to shadow them along with a RAAF P3 Orion maritime patrol plane. “He (Mr Putin) is making the point that Russia has global reach and he’s making that point to the whole world,” a senior defence source said.

“It would be over the top to call it a naval shirt-front.”

Another senior defence source described the presence of the warships as Russia showing an “aura of power” around its leader at the G20 summit.

GRAPHIC: Russians in the neighbourhood

Defence was not aware of other nations sending naval vessels to accompany their leaders.

Australian Defence Force chief Mark Binskin said last night the Russians had publicised the mission to the South Pacific in ­advance. When asked whether it was an act of aggression, Air Chief Marshal Binskin said: “You’d have to ask the Russians.”

The Russian ships are expected to stay in international waters as part of what is known as a “high seas transit” for the leader, which is permitted under international law. The Russian embassy said the warships had no intention of entering Australian waters, unless by invitation. It said they were performing “routine activities and do not hold the course in the direction of Australia”.

The Russian warships are believed to have departed from Vladivostok on October 23. Another Russian warship, the guided missile cruiser Moskva, was reportedly involved in live-fire drills in the South China Sea and its appearance in Southeast Asia was described by the US Naval Institute as “a rare show of surface presence in the region”.

Defence said Russian naval vessels had previously been ­deployed in conjunction with major international summits.

A warship from Russia’s ­Pacific Fleet accompanied former president Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to San Francisco in 2010, and a Russian vessel was also sent to the APEC meeting in Singapore in 2009.

Defence watchers reported that family members of some of the Russian sailors made comments on social media sites last week that the ships were bound for Australia before making a return trip to Vladivostok.

Additional reporting: Sharri Markson