China on Monday accused the U.S. of violating international law in seizing oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, appearing to take the side of Caracas as Washington looks to take a third oil tanker this month.
“The U.S. practice of arbitrarily seizing other countries’ vessels grossly violates international law,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters, according to Bloomberg, adding that Beijing opposes anything that “infringes upon other countries’ sovereignty and security, and all acts of unilateralism or bullying.”
Lin added that Venezuela “has the right to independently develop mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries,” and Beijing supports Caracas in “defending its own legitimate rights and interests.”
The comments come as the U.S. on Sunday sought to seize a third oil tanker in an effort to cut off funding for the government of President Nicolás Maduro.
But the effort in the Caribbean Sea by the U.S. Coast Guard was thwarted when the tanker, the Bella 1, refused to submit and sailed away. Washington last year placed sanctions on the ship for transporting Iranian oil.
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