French President Emmanuel Macron in an interview published on Sunday said that Europe must not be a “follower” of either the US or China on Taiwan, saying the bloc risks entanglement in “crises that aren’t ours.”
His comments risk riling Washington and highlight divisions in the EU over how to approach China, as the US steps up confrontation with its closest rival and Beijing draws closer to Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.
“The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must be followers and adapt ourselves to the American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction,” Macron told media, including French business daily Les Echos and Politico, as he returned on Friday from a three-day state visit to Beijing.
Photo: AFP
“We must be clear where our views overlap with the US, but whether it’s about Ukraine, relations to China or sanctions, we have a European strategy,” Macron said, citing his prized ideal of EU “strategic autonomy.”
“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.”
In response to President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) meeting last week with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Beijing on Saturday launched three-day military exercises around Taiwan after Macron departed for France, including simulated strikes on Taiwanese territory.
Macron discussed Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Friday, during a visit in which he was feted while more hawkish European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was kept mostly at arm’s length.
Macron’s Elysee Palace office said the talks had been “dense and frank,” and that the French president was concerned about “growing tensions in the region” that could lead to “a terrible accident.”
Macron was “simply talking about the risk of Chinese ‘overreaction,’ forgetting China wishes to change the status quo by taking over Taiwan one way or the other,” Antoine Bondaz of the Paris-based Foundation for Strategic Research wrote on Twitter.
“The ambiguity... instils doubt in our like-minded partners,” he added.
Taiwan is just one area that risks “an acceleration of tensions breaking out between the duopoly” of China and the US, Macron said.
If the confrontation escalates too quickly, Europeans “won’t have the time or the resources to finance our strategic autonomy and will become vassals, whereas we can build a third pole if we have a few years,” he added.
Separately, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said that French lawmakers are planning a visit to Taipei.
The delegation is heading to the nation on Sunday, said a French official who is to be part of the group.
Media officers at the French National Assembly and Senate did not immediately reply when asked to comment on the plan yesterday, a public holiday in France.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday hosted a reception to celebrate Double Ten National Day. Conservative Canadian lawmaker Marc Dalton called Taiwan a “beacon of courage and resilience in the face of rising authoritarianism,” according to a post on the Taiwan in Vancouver Facebook page. Also in attendance were fellow conservative caucus members Tako Van Popta and Chak Au, who said that Taiwan plays an “indispensable role” in ensuring global peace, prosperity and stability due to its strategic position in the Indo-Pacific region, it said. Canadian lawmaker Michael Cooper also recorded a message wishing Taiwan a
RSS