Recently, Indonesian government officials revealed that Moscow had asked Jakarta for permission to deploy military aircraft, including long-range bombers, at the Manuhua air base on Biak Island [Papua]. This request was made by Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of the Russian Security Council, to Sjafri Syamsoddin, Indonesian Minister of Defense.
Given that the base in question is located “only” 1,400 km from Darwin, Australia immediately sought clarification from Indonesian authorities. “Obviously we do not want to see Russian influence in our region, very clearly.
“We have a position, we support Ukraine, we view [Russian President] Vladimir Putin as an authoritarian leader who has violated international law, who is attacking the sovereignty of the Ukrainian nation,” said Richard Marles, the Australian Defense Minister.
In any case, the Indonesian defense minister denied the information he gave his Australian counterpart.
“He told me in the clearest terms that the reports of Russian bombers operating from Indonesia are simply not true,” he said in a statement.
But that is clearly not the case, as Russia has long been interested in the Manuhua base on the Indonesian island for strategic control of the region.
In fact, in 2017, the Kremlin had sent a delegation there, led by General Sergei Kombylakh, then commander of the Russian Air Force’s long-range branch, to discuss issues related to cooperation with the Indonesian Air Force.
Two Russian Tu-95 Bear strategic bombers had made the trip, leading the Royal Australian Air Force [RAAF] to put Darwin air base on “highest alert.”
Russia has a military alliance with China aimed at reducing US power, especially in the Pacific Ocean. Indonesia is a country with which Russia has very good relations, which is why the gradual presence of any Russian bombers on the Indonesian island will likely turn into a regular air base, as part of the confrontation with the West.
At the same time, Moscow is strengthening its nuclear submarine fleet with the new Yasen submarines, which are its long arm in the Pacific Ocean, for the projection of power.
The entire situation in the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic and the Atlantic has changed drastically and it seems that the Americans and Russians care more about these regions than about the Mediterranean, and this is certainly not positive for the Mediterranean countries, except for Turkey of course, which has its own Ottoman plans.
During a recent visit to Turkey, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a cooperation agreement on defense issues, and this says a lot about the developments.
