As US destroyers closed in on Venezuela's coast on Thursday, China condemned Washington's military build-up and warned against foreign interference, backing Nicolas Maduro in a showdown that is drawing in powers far beyond the Caribbean.

Tensions between Washington and Caracas have escalated after Trump announced the deployment of three US warships off the coast of Venezuela as part of efforts to prevent drug trafficking. The move comes a day after US President Donald Trump doubled the bounty to $50 million on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

They roll down Beijing streets, covered from prying eyes by huge tarpaulins, but the silhouettes of missiles, tanks and undersea vehicles are unmistakable as China prepares for its most revealing military parade in six years.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has made a rare trip to Tibet and hailed the crushing of “separatism” in the once-restive region, as Beijing prepares for a looming struggle over the successor of the aging and exiled Dalai Lama and the hearts and minds of millions of Tibetans.

Xi’s arrival in Tibet coincided with a rare trip by China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, to India, where both countries pledged to rebuild ties damaged by a deadly 2020 border skirmish.