Dutton warns of ‘catastrophic failure’ if Labor blindsided by Russian air case bid near Australia

Peter Dutton says Anthony Albanese should be red-faced over his apparent “catastrophic” cluelessness about Russia’s reported bid to set up a military base in Indonesia.

Reputable reports emerged on US military website Janes on Tuesday that Moscow had lodged an official request to base several long-range aircraft at an air base — less than 1500km north of Darwin.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong admitted those reports had prompted Australia to act.

Just hours later Defence Minister Richard Marles said he had spoken to his Indonesian counterpart, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, on Tuesday afternoon.

“He has said to me in the clearest possible terms, reports of the prospect of Russian aircraft operating from Indonesia are simply not true,” Mr Marles said. But the Indonesian Defence Minister did not appear to deny a request had been made at some point by Russia.

Experts have warned such a proposal by Russia would have a “significant impact” on the Australian election, and Canberra would need to work to pressure Indonesia not to accept the request.

News of Russia’s request, first reported on military website Janes, emerged just weeks after Chinese live fire exercises in the Tasman Sea and the Chinese navy’s circumnavigation of Australia.

The developments at this point of the election cycle echoes the Solomon Islands’ decision to sign a security pact with Beijing during the 2022 campaign.

Mr Dutton said it would be a significant “failure” if Labor hadn’t been forewarned and only learnt about the request through reports.

“This would be a catastrophic failure of diplomatic relations if Penny Wong and Anthony Albanese didn’t have forewarning about this before it was made public,” Mr Dutton said.

While Mr Albanese wouldn’t confirm the timing of his knowledge, Senator Wong admitted Australia officials had only reached out to Indonesia after also reading the media reports.

“I’m aware of the reports and I can be clear that we, as a Government, have reached out to confirm those reports and to understand whether or not those reports are accurate and what the status of those requests from Russia are,” she said on Tuesday.

Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said while it wasn’t yet clear if Labor had been caught on the back foot, if that were true it would raise “quite considerable questions” — especially given China’s recent activity.

He said, ahead of Indonesia ruling out a Russian military base, that if Labor had failed to convince Jakarta not to accept Moscow’s request, “it (would) be egg on the face of the Government”.

“If it goes ahead, it would be a serious development for Australia’s security,” he said.

“I hope they say no and that’s the end of it, but if they say yes, it does create the risk of a fallout between Australia and Indonesia.”

Despite the reports appearing to catch the Government off guard on Tuesday, the Prime Minister insisted the Australian-Indo relationship was “extremely positive” and the strongest it had been. “We’ll respond in an appropriate way with our friends in Indonesia,” he said.

“We have a good relationship with our friends in Indonesia. The relationship has never been better than it is right now.”

The Prime Minister also confirmed on Tuesday afternoon he had sought a briefing on the development and Australia was seeking “clarity” from Indonesia.

“We are seeking further information from Indonesia about it. That’s the way you deal with international relations,” he said.

“We obviously do not want to see Russian influence in our region.”

Dr Davis said the danger for Indonesia in having Russian heavy bombers would be that it could force them to also accept a Chinese presence in the area.

“I do think there is a risk here that Russia and China could work together to get Indonesia to accept something that’s not in its interests,” he said, adding this was part of a broader strategy of Russia increasing its military presence in the Indo-Pacific.

The Prime Minister became testy with journalists in the press pack shadowing his campaign after he was pushed for more details about his knowledge of the alleged Russian application.

“I’ve answered the question. I can’t answer it any different way,” he snapped at one point.

“We are in a campaign at the moment.

“As you’re aware, I’ve been travelling from Hobart to here with you on a different plane but at the same time.”

Mr Dutton lamented the Prime Minister’s diplomacy and questioned when Labor knew of the encroachment on the region before it was made public on the website.

“We need to make sure that the Government explains exactly what has happened here. Did the Prime Minister know about this before it was publicly announced by the president of Indonesia?” he said.

“And what is the Government’s response to it? The Prime Minister and the Foreign Affairs Minister should have the depth of relationship with Indonesia to have had forewarning of this.

“This is a very, very troubling development ... suggestion that somehow Russia would have some of their assets based in Indonesia only a short distance from, obviously, the north of our country.”

The facility listed in the Janes report is also the home to the Indonesian Air Force’s Aviation Squadron 27.

The report stated that the “request was received by the office of Minister of Defence Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin following his meeting with Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu in February 2025”.

Indonesia has been steadily building ties with Moscow under President Prabowo Subianto, with the nations conducting their first joint naval drills in November.

Moscow had reportedly wanted to deepen its Indo-Pacific military footprint through access to the Manuhua Air Force Base in Papua province.

Meanwhile, Russia has been strengthening relations with China in the Indo-Pacific.

This follows ongoing tensions surrounding China’s military presence in waters around Australia earlier this year and both major parties’ recent election announcements to have a rethink on foreign ownership of the Port of Darwin.

Both the Coalition and Labor firmly rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin as a legitimate leader and condemned his unlawful actions in the war against Ukraine.

Mr Dutton labelled him a “murderous dictator” while the PM called Putin “an authoritarian leader who has broken international law”.

Senator Wong said Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine was “illegal and immoral”.

“The Australian Government has imposed a great many sanctions on Russia and continues to provide both military and humanitarian support,” she said.

Mr Dutton on Tuesday vowed Coalition were committed to boosting defence spending in Australia and slammed the Albanese Government for sucking funds from the vital department.

“What we’ve said all along is that we’re committed to additional funding in defence, and you can’t live in the world that we live in at the moment, and pretend that you can’t invest into defence,” the Opposition Leader said.

“The problem is that the Prime Minister has taken $80 billion out of defence and that is reckless.

“But it’s not surprising because it’s what Labor did under the Rudd-Gillard government as well. It’s what Labor always does because they tax and spend.

“We have, and always will have, a better bottom line than Labor but we will invest into defence.”