ISTANBUL

China on Tuesday pledged to help Cuba amid concern over increasing "fuel shortages” in the Caribbean nation.

“China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding national security, sovereignty, and opposes external interference,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing.

“We firmly oppose any moves that deprive Cuban people of their rights to subsistence and development and (oppose) non-human behaviors. We will, as always, provide assistance and help to Cuba,” said Lin.

The UN expressed concern on Monday over the “growing fuel shortages, and their impact on people” in Cuba after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country that sells oil to the island nation.

Since the Trump administration’s Jan. 3 military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a longtime supporter of Cuba's government, the US has sought to strengthen its position on Cuba.

In an executive order in late January, Trump described the Cuban regime as posing "an unusual and extraordinary threat," saying that a declaration of a national emergency was necessary.