Two days after reports surfaced that Russia had requested to use one of Indonesia's military bases in Papua, its government has confirmed that it "never granted permission to any country to build or possess a military base".
In the country's first official response to the saga, Foreign Ministry spokesman Rolliansyah Soemirat said that Indonesia only allows vessels on "peaceful missions" to visit, in keeping with its "longstanding tradition of a free and active foreign policy".
"Indonesia has plans to build a satellite launch site in Biak. Discussions on this matter began several years ago but have not yet resulted in any decision," Soemirat added.
On Wednesday, Russia's ambassador to Indonesia, Sergei Tolchenov, told the ABC that the military interactions between Russia and Indonesia "encompass various areas, including cooperation between the air forces".
"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," he said.
"When it comes to any challenges to regional stability, they are more likely to arise from the rotational deployment of large military contingents from extra-regional states on Australian territory."
He neither confirmed nor denied reports on Russia's request for a base in Papua.
On Tuesday, military website Janes claimed that Russia had asked Indonesia to base long-range aircraft at the Manuhua air force base, on Biak Island off the Indonesian province of Papua, 1300 km away from Darwin.
On Thursday, Ridzwan Rahmat, the senior journalist who reported the story, told The Sydney Morning Herald that they "stand by this story and it is accurate."
"This story was written following a few weeks of speaking to well-placed sources within the Indonesian government. Furthermore, to protect these sources, we will not release this information or further details of these conversations," he said.
