Amid a report that Russia was trying to station long-range military aircraft in Indonesia, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made it clear he did not want to see Russian influence within the region.
“We have a position, which is we stand with Ukraine, we regard Vladimir Putin as an authoritarian leader who has broken international law, who is attacking the sovereignty of the nation of Ukraine,” he said.
Albanese highlighted Australia’s strong relationship with its nearby neighbour.
“We are ascertaining having a look at those reports as the foreign minister and defence minister have said. We have a good relationship with our friends in Indonesia and we are seeking further clarification,” Albanese told reporters on April 15.
“Our friends in Indonesia, the relationship has never been better than it is right now.”
However, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles said he received confirmation from his Indonesian counterpart Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin that Russian aircraft would not operate from Indonesia.
“He said to me in the clearest possible terms, reports of the prospect of Russian aircraft operating from Indonesia are simply not true,” Marles told reporters.
However, he has declined to confirm whether Russia indeed made such a request.
“We know Russia is active in the region,” he said on the Today Show. “We know that they have conversations with people ... I’m not about to go through the details of this in the media.”
In an earlier interview, Marles had talked up Australia’s relationship with Indonesia and emphasised Australia had been in contact with its neighbour.
“We have a very close relationship with Indonesia. We have a growing defence relationship with Indonesia. We will keep engaging with Indonesia in a way which befits a very close friend and a very close friendship between our two countries,” he said.
Dutton Calls for Explanation
Earlier, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton called on the government to explain exactly what happened.“This would be a catastrophic failure of diplomatic relations if [Foreign Minister] Penny Wong and Anthony Albanese didn’t have forewarning about this before it was made public,” Dutton said.
“But this is a very, very troubling development and a suggestion that somehow Russia would have some of their assets based in Indonesia, only a short distance from the north of our country.”
Dutton suggested the prime minister must have known about the situation.
“If they haven’t, I think they have to explain to the Australian public what has gone wrong here because this would be a very significant development and a negative one that’s obvious to all of us,” he said.
The opposition leader said Australia does not welcome Putin’s presence in the region “at all.”
Labor has heavily criticised Dutton for his response, which he gave before the government confirmed Russian aircraft would not be operated from Indonesia.
Wong accused Dutton of fabricating a statement by the Indonesian president.
“Now, this is an extraordinary thing for a man who wants to be the prime minister to do—to actually try and verbal the president of Indonesia in order to make a domestic political point,” she told ABC.
Similarly, Albanese said Dutton had made an “extraordinary overreach” with his words.
