Moscow comes mocking: Putin man Sergei Tolchenov’s wildcard warning to leaders on Indonesian defence ties

Moscow has warned Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton to stay out of its way in the Indo-Pacific, declaring Australia has ‘no cards’ to play to undermine Russia’s military co-operation with Indonesia.

Clockwise from left: Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Sergei Tolchenov; Anthony Albanese on Sunday, Peter Dutton in Ipswich on Sunday.

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Moscow has warned Anthony ­Albanese and Peter Dutton to stay out of its way in the Indo-Pacific, invoking Donald Trump to ­declare Australia has “no cards” to play that could undermine ­Russia’s military co-operation with Indonesia.

The prospect that Russia could operate military aircraft from Indonesia’s Biak Island continued to hang over Australia’s election campaign at the weekend, as Russia’s top diplomat in Jakarta warned Australia’s interests “cannot extend to the territory of neighbouring sovereign states that pursue active and independent policies”.

As the Opposition Leader prepares to announce his long-awaited defence policy in the lead up to Anzac Day this week, Labor sought to stamp out Coalition demands for greater transparency over the reported Russian request.

Minister Murray Watt said there was “no proposal” by Russia to have a base in Indonesia, despite the absence of a denial by Jakarta over a report to that effect by the Janes defence journal.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman David Coleman demanded an urgent clarification, arguing Senator Watt’s comments were at odds with those of other senior Labor figures, who said Jakarta had not agreed to a Russian base, but did not dispute a request was made.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Indonesia's then-President-elect Prabowo Subianto during a meeting in Moscow in July last year. Picture: Maxim Shemetov /AFP

The ongoing row over Moscow’s ties with Jakarta comes amid an increasingly close relationship between Indonesia and China, as the nations’ foreign and defence ministers prepared for talks in Beijing on Monday.

China’s Foreign Ministry said the inaugural “2+2” dialogue would include discussion on ­“bilateral co-operation in political security and defence, and international and regional co-operation”.

A week after the original Janes report, Moscow’s ambassador in Jakarta, Sergei Tolchenov, accused Australia’s political leaders of trying to out-do each other by ramping up anti-Russian rhetoric ahead of the May 3 election.

“It is clear that the leaders of the two main political parties, replacing each other in power and calling it democracy, are now trying to outdo each other, heating up the situation,” he said in a letter to the Jakarta Post. “They stop at nothing, and the time has come to play the so-called ‘Russian card’.”

But he said Australia had no say over Russia’s “integral” military engagement with Indonesia, ­declaring: “You have no cards.”

The statement was a reference to Mr Trump’s Oval Office meeting in February with Volodymyr Zelensky, when he said the Ukrainian President had “no cards” in peace talks with Russia.

The Biak Island base, in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua province, would become a hive of Russian activity under an agreement with Moscow’s space agency to establish a joint satellite launch facility there.

The head of Indonesia’s ­National Research and Innovation Agency announced in ­December last year that the country was collaborating with Roscosmos Space Corporation and its launch subsidiary, Glavkosmos, to develop the commercial space ­facility on the island.

“We hope to move forward with this co-operation and complete the spaceport as soon as possible,” the agency’s chair, Laksana Tri Handoko, said at the time.

Greek Orthodox Archbishop Makarios greets Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a lunch with members of the Greek community in Sydney. Picture: Alex Ellinghausen

Roscosmos has close ties to Russia’s military, developing intercontinental and ballistic missiles, and launching spy satellites and anti-satellite weapons.

Australian Strategic Policy ­Institute senior analyst Malcolm Davis warned the planned space facility would dramatically increase Russia’s influence over Jakarta, opening the way for closer military co-operation in a direct challenge to Australia’s security interests. “The strategic pay-off is more important than the actual space launch infrastructure itself,” Dr Davis said.

“It really increases their opportunity to engage with the Indonesians about other things, including using that air base, whether it be for bombers or whether it be for maritime patrol aircraft or whatever.”

Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Rolliansyah Soemirat last week said the country had not granted permission to any country to establish a military base on its territory, but made no mention if there had been any requests by Russia.

Mr Soemirat added that foreign military aircraft were free to visit Indonesian bases on “peaceful missions”.

He also confirmed Indonesia was pushing ahead with plans to establish a satellite launch facility on Biak. Despite the announcement of Russian space co-operation months earlier, Mr Soemirat said a decision was yet to be made on moving forward with the plan.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton attends an informal Easter Sunday BBQ in the Brisbane city of Ipswich, in the electorate of Blair. Picture: Richard Dobson / NewsWire

Russia expert and ASPI senior fellow Elizabeth Buchanan said she believed Jakarta had not misled Australia when it denied granting Russian permission to base its aircraft on Biak Island, arguing “a joint research defence base appears to be more likely”.

“Moscow is very much a Pacific actor by way of basic geography, with interests and relationships spanning the Asia-Pacific theatre,” Dr Buchanan said. “I expect defence research, development, and co-operation between Russia and nations throughout our neighbourhood to increasingly come online.”

Labor refused last week to grant the Coalition a security briefing on the reported Russian request under election caretaker conventions, arguing there was no decision to be made that required consultation with the opposition.

Senator Watt accused the Coalition of overreach on Sunday when asked about the matter by Sky News. “They might as well ask for a briefing on the Loch Ness monster. This is something that doesn’t exist, that they fabricated,” he said.

“There is no proposal from Russia to have a base anywhere in Indonesia in the way that Peter Dutton and his colleagues have been claiming over the last couple of weeks.”

A Russian Tu-95 bomber. Picture: Supplied

Mr Coleman said: “The Prime Minister and other ministers have been deliberately avoiding this exact question on the reported request. It appears that Murray Watt’s comments are at odds with his colleagues.

“The government has been refusing to say when it learnt of any such reported request. Is Senator Watt’s statement accurate? This inconsistency from government reinforces the need for a briefing to be provided to the opposition.”

Indonesia has been steadily building ties with Moscow under President Prabowo Subianto, who wasted little time in signing on to the China and Russia-led BRICS developing nations grouping after his October inauguration.

Weeks later the two nations conducted their first bilateral naval drills in Indonesian waters – raising questions about Jakarta’s commitment to its non-aligned status given Moscow’s ongoing war on Ukraine. Mr Prabowo also met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in July, just months after his presidential election victory, and is scheduled to return there this June.