China's foreign ⁠ministry on Monday said the United States' seizure of another country's ships was a serious violation of international law, after the U.S. intercepted a China-bound oil tanker ‍off the Venezuelan coast.

Venezuela has the right ‍to develop relations with other countries, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian ⁠said at a daily press briefing, adding that China opposes all "unilateral and illegal" sanctions.

On Saturday, the ​U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a second oil tanker in international waters off the Venezuelan coast, days after President ‍Donald Trump announced a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering ⁠and leaving Venezuela.

The tanker, Centuries, loaded in Venezuela under the false name "Crag" and was carrying some 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan Merey crude oil bound for ⁠China, documents showed.

The ​crude was bought ⁠by Satau Tijana Oil Trading, one of many intermediaries involved ‍in Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA's sales to Chinese independent refiners, ‌the documents showed.

A White House spokesperson said the "falsely flagged vessel" carried sanctioned oil and was part of ⁠Venezuela's shadow fleet.

The ​Venezuelan government called the ‍tanker interception a "serious act of international piracy."

China is the biggest buyer of Venezuelan crude, ‍which accounts for roughly 4% of its imports.