Australia asks Indonesia about Russian request to base aircraft in Papua
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government has asked Indonesia about a report in defense publication Janes that Russia has requested basing military aircraft in Papua, as the issue dominated Ausralia's election campaign on Tuesday.
'We obviously do not want to see Russian influence in our region,' Albanese told reporters.
Janes reported that Jakarta has received an official request from Moscow, seeking permission for Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) aircraft to be based at a facility in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua.
The province is about 1,200 km (746 miles) north of the Australian city of Darwin, where a US Marines Corp rotational force is based for six months of the year, and Australian air bases are being upgraded to host visiting U.S. bombers.
Australia is 'seeking further clarification' with Indonesia about the report, Albanese said, adding Canberra has a good relationship with Jakarta.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles has spoken to his Indonesian counterpart who said there would be no Russian air force planes based in Indonesia, according to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Indonesian foreign ministry spokesperson Roy Soemirat said the ministry has not heard of the report.
Indonesia's defense ministry and military spokespeople did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, met with Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto at the presidential palace in Jakarta on Tuesday, according to a local television report.
Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said 'Indonesia is critical for Australian security' and the two countries had struck a defense cooperation agreement last year, she said at a news conference on Tuesday.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton said during a campaign stop the report was concerning and he is seeking a briefing from the Australian government on the issue.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
3yon News
13 hours ago
- 3yon News
الجوازات السعودية تؤكد جاهزية جميع المنافذ لإنهاء إجراءات مغادرة ضيوف الرحمن
STORY: :: A Russian air attack hit a high-rise building next to the office of the European delegation to Ukraine :: Kyiv, Ukraine :: June 10, 2025 :: Katarina Mathernova, Ambassador of European Union to Ukraine 'Last night was horrendous attack on Kyiv with multiple drones, hundreds of drones and missiles. And in fact, a building right across the street from the European Union delegation was actually severely damaged. And a car in our parking lot got damaged by debris.' Glass facade was ruined on several floors and an exterior wall was damaged on two floors. The Russian attack also damaged Saint Sophia Cathedral, a UNESCO world heritage site located in the historic centre of Kyiv, Ukrainian Culture Minister Mykola Tochytskyi said. One person died in the attack on Kyiv, city authorities said. At least four people were treated in hospital after seven of the capital's 10 districts were hit, city officials said.
Al Arabiya
20 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Australian PM blasts targeting of journalist in LA unrest
Australia's prime minister on Tuesday denounced the 'horrific' shooting of a rubber bullet at an Australian television reporter covering unrest in Los Angeles. Australian 9News reporter Lauren Tomasi was hit in the leg by a rubber bullet on Sunday while reporting on live television. Her employer said she was sore but unharmed. 'She is going ok. She is pretty resilient, I have got to say, but that footage was horrific,' Albanese told reporters after speaking to Tomasi. Albanese said the reporter could reasonably have expected not to be 'targeted' with a rubber bullet while doing her job in Los Angeles. The footage showed she was 'clearly identified' as a member of the media, with 'no ambiguity,' he said. 'We don't find it acceptable that it occurred, and we think the role of the media is particularly important.' Albanese said his government had raised the incident with the US administration but he would not comment on any future discussion with US President Donald Trump. Trump ordered 700 US Marines and 2,000 more National Guard troops to Los Angeles on Monday after days of street protests sparked by dozens of immigration arrests.
Saudi Gazette
2 days ago
- Saudi Gazette
Prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine under way
KYIV — A prisoner exchange is under way between Russia and Ukraine, governments in Moscow and Kyiv have confirmed. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said the exchange would unfold "in several stages" over the coming days, adding that the wounded, seriously wounded and soldiers under 25 were being returned. Writing on Telegram, Zelensky said: "The process is quite complicated, there are many sensitive details, negotiations continue virtually every day." Russia said a "similar number" of prisoners of war had been returned to Ukraine, though neither side provided an exact figure for how many people had been exchanged. Russia's defense ministry said "the first group of Russian servicemen under the age of 25 were returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime" following an agreement reached between the warring countries last week during talks in Turkey. As with past exchanges, Moscow said the exchanged Russian soldiers were receiving psychological and medical assistance in the Ukrainian side, relatives of prisoners of war and the missing gathered in the Chernihiv region, close to the border with Belarus, to greet the released prisoners and, in many cases, seek news of others still in week, Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of disrupting the planned repatriation of the bodies of dead late May, Russia and Ukraine each handed over 390 soldiers and civilians in the biggest prisoner exchange since Russia launched the full-scale invasion in war continued overnight, with Moscow launching a record 479 drones at Ukraine, including on the western region of Rivne that had been largely spared from defence ministry said it had targeted Rivne's Dubno base and described this as "one of the retaliatory strikes" in response to Ukraine's audacious drone attacks on Russian airfields on 1 overnight Russian launches caused damage in several Ukrainian regions but there were no reports of has recently escalated its attacks on Ukraine, with each week bringing a new record of drones fired at the its part, Kyiv said it attacked another Russian airbase in the Nizhny Novgorod region, which lies 400 miles from the Ukrainian said the base houses planes that launch hypersonic missiles and that it had damaged "two units of enemy aircraft".It also targeted an electronics factory that Kyiv says manufactures equipment to guide drones and aerial shows one of the explosions caused by an attack drone, and a large fire at the plant. Production there has been suspended. — BBC
