Russia hopes to establish its first naval base abroad since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and is looking at Cuba, Vietnam and the Seychelles as possible locations, state-run RIA news agency quoted the navy chief as saying on Friday.
Russia has been increasing the reach of its navy in recent years, sending warships further afield.
"It's true we are continuing work on providing the navy with basing outside the Russian Federation," RIA quoted Vice Admiral Viktor Chirkov as saying.
The Soviet Union had a large naval base in Communist ally Vietnam but post-Soviet Russia opted to vacate the Cam Ranh base in 2002, during President Vladimir Putin's first Kremlin term, because rent payments were a burden on state coffers.
The fate of Russia's only naval facility outside the former Soviet Union, in the Syrian port of Tartous, is uncertain because of the conflict in Syria.
Chirkov said Russia was "working out the issue of creating sites for material and technical support on the territory of Cuba, the Seychelles and Vietnam," RIA reported. Chirkov's wording suggested facilities in those countries might not be full-scale naval bases.
Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, who was in Russia and was to meet Putin yesterday, was quoted as telling Voice of Russia radio that Vietnam "will provide Russia with advantages in Cam Ranh, including [the] aim of developing military cooperation".
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