HONG KONG, August 27. /TASS/. The Donald Trump administration’s threats against Venezuela will only bring the Latin American nation and its neighbors closer to China, the South China Morning Post writes in its editorial.

"China knows all about gunboat diplomacy and Western imperialism. That is why it is sympathetic to countries across the Caribbean and South America now being threatened by a military build-up by the United States. Washington has dispatched three destroyers with an amphibious squadron carrying 4,000 Marines to waters off Venezuela. Its rationale is to disrupt drug cartels, but Caracas, not unreasonably, sees it as a challenge to its sovereignty and security," the newspaper points out.

"China is estimated to have poured about $67 billion into Venezuela since 2007 and has an abiding interest in the country’s oil supplies, whose exports have been severely curtailed by US sanctions. US aggression is likely to compel Venezuela, Brazil and Colombia to move closer to China; but not only them. Most countries in the region have joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which has provoked Washington," the paper notes.

"Washington has been trying to disrupt those regional ties with China. But with such naked aggression from the US, more Latin American countries may just move closer to Beijing," the South China Morning Post adds.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning stated earlier that China opposed US warships’ patrolling near Venezuela’s coast under the pretext of combating drug trafficking. The diplomat stressed that Beijing did not accept any actions running counter to the UN Charter, which infringed on the sovereignty and security of other countries.

Reuters reported on August 19, citing sources, that three US missile destroyers would arrive off the coast of Venezuela as part of an effort to address threats from Latin American drug cartels. According to the New York Times, US President Donald Trump has secretly signed a directive to the Pentagon to begin using military force against certain Latin American drug cartels.