Emmanuel Macron has banned European journalists who exclusively travelled with him to China last week from publishing some “frank” comments he made on Taiwan.
The French President raised eyebrows after comments he made about China and the US were published by French newspaper Les Echos and Politico Europe.
Macron was quoted as saying in the interview: “The question we need to answer, as Europeans, is the following: is it in our interest to accelerate (a crisis) on Taiwan? No.
“The worst 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.”
The comments were made Friday, before China launched large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan that simulated sealing off the island in response to the Taiwanese president’s trip to the US last week.
Macron spoke to reporters on his way back from a three-day state visit to China, where he spoke at length with President Xi Jinping, including about Taiwan, according to Macron’s office.
But according to Politico, the French President demanded to copy and edit his comments before the interview could be published.
The website, which published the interview on Sunday, revealed that “some parts of the interview in which the President spoken even more frankly about Taiwan and Europe’s strategic autonomy were cut out by the Elysee”.
The published remarks have nonetheless drawn wide attention on social media, and experts raised questions about whether Macron’s views are in line with the European Union’s position and whether the bloc of 27 is able to become the “third superpower” that Macron says he hopes to build within “a few years”.
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Asked about Macron’s comments Monday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby insisted that the US and France have a “terrific bilateral cooperation” and closely coordinate on security issues in Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific, the Sahel and elsewhere.
Kirby said: “We’re focused on … making sure that together we’re meeting the national security requirements of both countries.”
Macron on Tuesday has started a two-day state visit in The Netherlands, where he is scheduled to make a speech on Europe’s sovereignty, with a focus on the economy and industry, according to his office.
Macron said in the interview: “We, Europeans, must wake up. Our priority is not others’ agendas in all regions of the world.”
He emphasised the concept of “strategic autonomy” for Europe which he has promoted for years. He warned of what he called the “trap” that would lead to the bloc “getting caught up in crises that are not ours.”
“We don’t want to depend on others for critical topics,” he insisted.
