According to Macron, it is not in Europe’s interest to be dragged into a conflict between the US and China over Taiwan as an American vassal. It’s not “our conflict,” he told Politico earlier this week.
The statement has raised questions in the US about why it should get involved in the war between Russia and Ukraine when the EU does not intend to support it in an invasion of Taiwan.
The French president stood by the statement when he met the press today during his visit to the Netherlands.
– We are for a status quo and that line is constant. It has not changed, it is a policy of one China and a peaceful solution to the issue, Macron said on Wednesday, according to the AP.
Bad timing
The EU’s official line has long been not to recognize Taiwan as independent. The fact that Macron’s statement nevertheless provoked so many reactions is partly about timing. Göran von Sydow, head of Sieps, believes so.
– Right now we are in a sensitive situation both regarding Taiwan and in world politics. The agreement between the US and the EU on what is happening in Ukraine is extremely important and it is not the time to highlight that difference, says von Sydow in Current.
– Macron’s purpose was to ideologically escalate the situation. But it is very possible that his attempt rather created an uncertainty about Europe’s stance, says von Sydow
“Remarkable”
Lars Vargö, former ambassador to South Korea and Japan, believes that Macron’s statement is both startling and remarkable. Vargö says that the threats of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan are real and that an invasion could escalate into a major war in East Asia.
– But it may not be relevant in the next few years. There are different time perspectives, 2049 is a hundred years since the Communist Party took over and I think that by then they want to draw Taiwan into the People’s Republic, says Vargö.