RUSSIA is deploying a warship to Australia’s doorstep for the first time ever this week.

According to Russia’s state media, a 7000-tonne Perekop training ship loaded with weapons will arrive in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea on Wednesday.

“The Perekop training ship will make a historic business port call in Port Moresby. This will be the first port call by a Russian military ship in the history of Russian-Papua New Guinean relations,” said Russia’s Navy spokesman Igor Dygalo.

He said the voyage was part of a two-month long mission that included stopovers in Europe and Sri Lanka.

Dr Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst in defence strategy and capability at ASPI, noted that while the training ship itself did not pose a threat to Australia, it symbolised the wider problem of authoritarian powers encroaching on the Pacific.

“It reinforces Russia’s continuing interest in the Pacific, alongside China, and it’s something that Australia needs to be increasingly focused on,” he told news.com.au. “The ship itself is no threat, but the broader intention for both China and Russia to extend their influence, is definitely a cause for concern.”

The warship, with a crew of more than 200 naval cadets, will remain in the area until Saturday.

In a statement to The Australian, Papua New Guinea Foreign Affairs Minister, Rimbink Pato, said the port visit represented a “pre-APEC gesture of friendship” by “some 200 young people” on a ship that “carries only basic armaments”.

“We welcome youth from all APEC member economies prior to — and during — this great event for our country,” Mr Pato said in a statement.

“Naturally, we have informed the Australians, our major security partner and close neighbour, and advised them of the nature of the visit.”

Last December, the Australian Defence Force was on heightened alert after Russian strategic bombers conducted navigation exercises out of an Indonesian military base.

According to the ABC, RAAF Base Darwin was placed on a “short period” of heightened alert during the five-day stopover.

In Russia, responded to Western concerns about the presence of Russian ships on the coast of Australia


The Western media are seriously concerned about the first business trip of the Russian Navy ship to the port of Papua New Guinea, located "on the threshold" of Australia.

The training ship of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy Perekop this week will make a call at Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. This is the first time in history when a Russian warship stops in this oceanic country, and due to unprecedented nature this event caused considerable concern in the West, primarily in Australia, on the "threshold" of which, it is alleged, Russian military forces appeared.

According to Malcolm Davis, an expert with the Australian Institute for Strategic Policy (ASPI), the ship of the Russian Navy in Oceania should "seriously alert" Australians, as it could mean "encroachment" on Moscow and its allied Beijing to the Pacific. Davis admits that Perekop himself, which the media point out, "has weapons on board," does not present a threat, but his appearance means the beginning of Russia's plans to expand its influence in the Pacific.

According to Australian media, the arrival of Perekop in Port Moresby is the second "frightening" event on the part of Russia after the exercises of the Russian Federation military bomber in Indonesia in late 2017. Then Australia for the first time in a long time led to increased combat readiness base of combat aviation in the city of Darwin in the north of the country.

In Russia, Australia's claims to the ship of the Russian Federation in Oceania were called a manifestation of the double standards of the West. Web users remind that when the US declares "interests" around the world and places the fleet and troops in other countries and regions very remote from the American continent, no one imputes to Washington a "threatening" and violation of sovereignty ....

Note: Translating Google