Back from a three-day state visit to China, French President Emmanuel Macron is a man of fresh ideas. In a no holds barred interview, Macron said Europe must strive for ‘neutrality’ on the Taiwan issue, adding that the bloc must not be a follower of either the US or China.
Macron’s statements come at a time when the US has been preparing the ground to assimilate Taiwan into the mainstream while China is flexing its military muscles near the island nation to send a stern message to rivals.
“The question Europeans need to answer…is it in our interest to accelerate [a crisis] on Taiwan? No. The worse thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the US agenda and a Chinese overreaction,” Macron told French business daily Les Echos and Politico on his plane journey back home.
Stability in Taiwan paramount
According to reports, Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the Taiwan issue ‘intensely’, keeping EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen at arm’s length, which could describe the conciliatory approach taken by the French leader.
“Stability in the Taiwan Strait is of paramount importance. The threat [of] the use of force to change the status quo is unacceptable,” said the French prez.
Macron continued his assessment and cited the example of the Russia-Ukraine war where the EU, despite its relative cohesion, has not been able to resolve the situation.
“Europeans cannot resolve the crisis in Ukraine; how can we credibly say on Taiwan, ‘watch out, if you do something wrong we will be there’? If you really want to increase tensions that’s the way to do it.”
“We don’t want to get into a bloc versus bloc logic,” he added, saying Europe “should not be caught up in a disordering of the world and crises that aren’t ours”.
Macron was much more frank: Publication
The publication stated that Macron was much more frank in discussing Taiwan and Europe’s strategic autonomy during the interview. However, after French President’s office, known as the Elysée Palace insisted on ‘proofreading’ the quotes prior to the release of the interview – some of the statements were cut out.
After Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during her layover, en route home, China launched a massive military exercise around the island, akin to the way it did last year after Pelosi’s visit.
China sent its aircraft carriers, and anti-submarine helicopters and launched stimulated strikes hours after Macron departed for France.
(With inputs from agencies)
