French President Emmanuel Macron, who was on a visit to the Netherlands on Wednesday defended his comments on Taiwan in which he said Europe should not become a “vassal” and must avoid being drawn into any conflict between the US and China over Taiwan and reiterated that being a US ally did not mean being a “vassal”.
"Being allies doesn't mean being vassals ... Just because we are allies, just because we do things together that we decide to do, doesn't mean that we don't have the right to think on our own and that we will follow the most extreme people in a country that is allied with us," Macron said during a joint press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, as quoted by BBC.
He further said that nothing has changed in France’s support for the “status quo” in Taiwan. He also said that Paris supports the One China policy and the search for a peaceful resolution to the situation," BBC reported.
Macron's weekend interview on Taiwan drew praise as "brilliant" in China -- which rejects US support of what it sees as a breakaway province -- but raised eyebrows among Western allies. Former US president Donald Trump has accused Macron of cosying up to China and said that "Macron, who's a friend of mine, is over with China, kissing his ass," as the news agency AFP reported.
Macron refused to react to Trump’s comments and said that he had "nothing to say about the comments by former President Trump because he is taking part in this escalation". Dutch premier Rutte said he agreed with Macron that Europe "must be a player and not a playing field,” but insisted that Washington remained an "essential partner when it comes to security and freedom," as quoted by AFP.