Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have refused to confirm whether Jakarta received a request by Moscow to use Indonesia as a base for Russian war planes.
Respected UK-based military intelligence website Janes this week reported that the Kremlin had requested permission for Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft to be based at a military facility in Indonesia's province of Papua, about 1,200km from Darwin.
Defence Minister Richard Marles on Tuesday said he had discussed the report with his Indonesian counterpart and has been informed the prospect of Russian planes operating out of the country is simply "not true".
However, the government has repeatedly refused to rule out whether such a request was actually made.
Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday, Ms Wong fell short of denying whether Russia had approached Indonesia in relation to the military request.
"I'm obviously not going to go into all the discussions we have diplomatically, we don't do that through the media," Ms Wong told host Peter Stefanovic.
"But I would say this... It is the case that there has been a long-standing relationship between Indonesia and Russia, that’s a historic relationship, they have had engagement.
"They have had engagement not just diplomatically, but in terms of military equipment and hardware.
"We’re well aware of the historic relationship, but what is important is to ensure that we have a relationship with Indonesia where we can engage on issues."
Ms Wong said Indonesia was "not contemplating any so-called Russian base or any Russian assets operating out of Indonesian territory".
According to the report, the Russian request sought to have various long-range aircraft assets at the Manuhua Air Force Base in the Papua region at Biak Numfor in eastern Indonesia.
Speaking at a media conference on Wednesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was also grilled by a reporter on whether Russia made the request to Indonesia.
"I don't intend to run a complete running commentary but what we do know is that the Indonesian government have said themselves," Mr Albanese replied to the journalist.
However, the reporter interjected before Mr Albanese could finish his answer to bring him back to the question.
"My question was did you know about the request," the reporter stated.
Mr Albanese said there was "no basis" to "assume" the Janes report is correct.
"So are you saying a request was never made? We know for sure that a request was not made, is that what you're saying?" the journalist pressed.
Mr Albanese replied: "I'm saying I'll act diplomatically with our friends in Indonesia, that's what I'm saying".
The government has also launched a blistering attack on Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, accusing him of fabricating a statement from the Indonesian President.
During an interview with the ABC on Tuesday, Mr Dutton claimed the report about the Russian military request had been confirmed by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
"There’s commentary I have seen reported from the Indonesian spokesperson," Mr Dutton told host Patricia Karvelas.
"That obviously comes from the administration. There are reports of negotiations or discussions that have taken place between Russia and Indonesia."
Karvelas suggested to Mr Dutton that he was "verballing" the President, asking again where he had seen the confirmation from Indonesia.
"There’s a comment that’s come out of the administration, out of the Prabowo administration,’’ Mr Dutton said.
"The Prime Minister knew nothing about it, neither did Penny Wong. But Penny Wong has set a standard here she hasn’t met herself. I hope she’s able to explain exactly what’s taken place."
Ms Wong told Sky News that Mr Dutton was "too reckless" to be the next prime minister in the wake of his comments.
"Peter Dutton is really too aggro and too reckless to be Australia’s prime minister because the most concerning thing about yesterday is the fact that he was willing to fabricate a statement by the President of Indonesia in order to make a domestic political point," Ms Wong said on Wednesday.
"I think that is an extraordinarily reckless thing from a man who wants to be prime minister to do."
The Russian request sought to have various long-range aircraft assets at the Manuhua Air Force Base in the Papua region at Biak Numfor.
The base houses the Indonesian Air Force’s Aviation Squadron 27 and is located 1,300 kilometres from Darwin.
