The Ministry of Defense has dismissed an international media report that the Russian military would be present in Indonesia and make the Indonesian Air Force’s Manuhua Base in Biak, Papua as the location for its military aircraft headquarters.

"There is absolutely no discussion about borrowing an air base in Indonesian territory for Russia," Spokesman of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, Brigadier General Frega Wenas Inkiriwang, said as quoted by Kompas.id on Wednesday, April 17, 2025.

Meanwhile, Spokesman of the Russian government Dmitriy Peskov responded to media reports that Russia had asked Indonesia for permission to base its aircraft in Indonesia as fake news.

Previously, news of the application to place military aircraft in Indonesian territory appeared in international media Janes. In its report, the media wrote that Jakarta had received an official request from Moscow to allow Russian Air Force (VKS) aircraft to be placed at a facility in Biak.

This request emerged after the second meeting of the Indonesian and Russian defense ministers in February 2025, which made the Australian Government uneasy as the distance between Biak and Australia is only around 1,200 kilometers (km).

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese clarified to Indonesia that Australia did not want to see Russian influence in this region.

Free and active policy

TB Hasanuddin, Member of the Indonesian House of Representatives’ (DPR) foreign political and defense affairs Commission I, assessed that the establishment of a foreign military base in Indonesia could potentially trigger tensions among ASEAN member countries and disrupt regional stability.

"We must be careful. Regional stability is more important than the narrow interests of certain countries. ASEAN was built on cooperation and trust, not military power competition," Hasanuddin said on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.

According to him, the establishment of foreign military bases in Indonesia is a violation of the Constitution and contradicts the principle of Indonesia's free and active foreign policy which is also the main foundation of Indonesian diplomacy.

"Our constitution and various laws and regulations expressly prohibit the existence of foreign military bases. This is not only a matter of law, but concerns the principle of national sovereignty and the direction of our foreign policy," Hasanuddin cited.

Indonesia's free and active foreign policy means a nation that is free from the influence of any bloc and actively maintains world peace.

Hasanuddin said further that through the establishment of these bases, Indonesia can be dragged into geopolitical games that are counterproductive to world peace.

"Our national interests are more important than interfering in situations that have the potential to increase the intensity of conflict between major powers," he noted.