It is hard to imagine that any ordinary Australians should be concerned about what is happening 1,300 kilometers from their territory, about matters that concern relations between other sovereign states and have nothing to do with Australia. Perhaps it would be better for them to pay attention to the United States’ Typhon medium-range missile system in the Philippines, which will definitely reach the territory of the continent?

When it comes to any challenges to regional stability, they are more likely to arise from the rotational deployment of large military contingents from non-regional states on Australian territory, including the provision of airfields for the landing of strategic bombers and port infrastructure for visits of nuclear-powered submarines.

Particularly alarming are the plans to deploy the US' intermediate-range missiles in Australia, as well as the acquisition by the Royal Australian Navy of nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS trilateral partnership. The latter raises serious concerns about the effectiveness of established nuclear-weapon-free zones in the Asia-Pacific, such as the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone (Treaty of Rarotonga) and the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (Bangkok Treaty).

Once again, I would like to emphasize the thesis that I have repeatedly conveyed here in Jakarta to local and foreign journalists. Military cooperation is an integral part of intergovernmental relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Indonesia.

This strictly bilateral topic is based on a relevant legal framework and the national legislation of each country. Interaction between the armed forces of Russia and Indonesia encompasses various areas. Such cooperation is aimed at strengthening the defensive capabilities of both sides, is not aimed against any third countries and poses no threat to security in the Asia-Pacific region.

As for the national interests mentioned in the article, which are allegedly under threat, I would like to draw a parallel with human rights which, as we know, end where the rights of another person begin. Likewise, Canberra's national interests cannot extend to the territory of neighboring sovereign states that pursue active and independent policies.

The most important aspect of this story about “Russian base in Indonesia” the author himself reveals in the first lines of his opus, when he mentions the upcoming elections of the Australian parliament on May 3, 2025. It is clear that the leaders of the two main political parties, replacing each other in power and calling it democracy, are now trying to outdo each other, heating up the situation. They stop at nothing, and the time has come to play the so-called “Russian card”.

This means to show to overseas mentors who is more anti-Russian and Russophobe. In this regard, I would like to remind them of the words of US President Donald Trump, which he pronounced in the White House on Feb. 28, 2025, to the Ukrainian citizen “Z”: “You have no cards.”

Sergei Tolchenov

Russian Ambassador to Indonesia