Indonesia has provided assurances that no Russian military aircraft will be stationed at an airbase in the country’s easternmost province of Papua, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said Wednesday.
Marles said he spoke with his Indonesian counterpart Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, who rejected a report that Russia has lodged a request to base long-range planes at a military airfield not far from the Australian city of Darwin, 9 News reported.
Marles’ statement came after Australian opposition leader Peter Dutton raised the issue amid the campaign for parliamentary elections scheduled for May 3 and said that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had been informed.
Dutton’s remarks came after the defense publication Janes said in a report that Russia had asked to station warplanes at Manuhua Air Force Base at Biak Numfor in the Indonesian province of Papua, located just 1,300 kilometers (807 miles) from Darwin.
Indonesia’s defense minister “made it utterly clear to me that reports of a prospect of a Russian aircraft operating from Indonesia are completely false and that Indonesia has no intention of doing this whatsoever,” said Marles.
Marles also rejected Dutton’s claim that Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto had “publicly announced” Russia’s request to base aircraft on his country’s soil.
“I cannot overstate the dangerous nature of an alternative prime minister of this country seeking to put words in the mouth of the president of Indonesia, which turned out to be completely wrong,” he added.
On Tuesday, Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov met with Prabowo in Jakarta and discussed progress on negotiations for a free trade agreement, according to Antara news agency.
“We discussed the Indonesia-Eurasian free trade agreement and hope it can be completed when the president visits St. Petersburg,” said Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, who also attended the meeting.
Prabowo is expected to visit Russia later this year as Manturov invited him to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), which will take place from June 18-21.