TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels will visit a China-funded naval base in Cambodia from this weekend, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Tuesday, as Tokyo aims to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific amid Beijing's growing military clout in the region.

Nakatani told a press conference that the ships are slated to make a port call at Ream Naval Base in southwestern Cambodia on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand from Saturday to April 22.

The announcement came after China and Cambodia held a ceremony earlier in the month to celebrate the completion of expansion work at the base with support from Beijing.

According to the Japanese Defense Ministry, a minesweeper and a minesweeper tender that are being dispatched to the Indo-Pacific and Middle East will visit the Southeast Asian nation, becoming the first foreign vessels to call at the base since its expansion.

The planned port call by the two MSDF ships will help the Ream base become "more open," Nakatani said, adding Japan remains vigilant amid China's "highly notable" moves to secure operational footholds overseas.