French President Emmanuel Macron highlighted his appeal for the EU to maintain its independence in foreign policy. Europe “should not be caught up in a disordering of the world and crises that are not ours,” he argued.
Macron’s comments come as the United States attempts to bring Taiwan into the mainstream and China flexes its military muscles near Taiwan in an effort to send a strong message to competitors. Macron‘s and other EU officials’ visit to China, which included a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, is also the context for these remarks. Among other topics, the leaders discussed Taiwan-related tensions and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Not EU’s interest
Macron emphasized that an escalation on Taiwan would not be in the EU’s best interests. He said, “The question asked of us Europeans is the following: is it in our interest for there to be acceleration on the topic of Taiwan? No. The worst thing we Europeans could do would be to be followers on this topic and to adapt to the American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction. Why should we go at a rhythm chosen by someone else?”
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Macron suggested that Europe should not escalate the conflict, but instead should take the opportunity to establish itself as a third pole between China and the United States.
“Europe must better fund its defense industry, develop nuclear and renewable energy and reduce dependence on the U.S. dollar to limit its reliance on the United States”, he expressed.
The tug of war among US-China over Taiwan
China began military exercises around Taiwan on Saturday in response to President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday. China regards democratically ruled Taiwan as its very own territory and has never renounced the use of power to bring the island under its authority. China’s claims are fiercely opposed by Taiwan’s government.
The status of Taiwan is one of the most significant flashpoints in U.S.-China relations, which have reached their lowest point in decades. Despite not having official relations with Taiwan, the United States is the island’s most significant international supporter.
Taiwan is important for political, economic, and cultural reasons, according to Lev Nachman, a political scientist and assistant professor at National Chengchi University in Taipei.
“Politically, it helps keep peace and stability in the world for Taiwan to remain a free and fair democracy as it exists,” he commented. “Economically, Taiwan is one of the United States’s most important trading partners, and one of the most important economic pieces of the global economy, particularly as a manufacturer of strategically important semiconductor chips”, Nachman added.
Macron calls for EU ‘strategic autonomy’
The French head of state emphasized the need for the European Union to develop “strategic autonomy,” a term referring to the bloc’s independent foreign policy stance.
“Europe hadn’t built this strategic autonomy for a long time,” he said. However, “now the ideological war has been won. Five years ago, strategic autonomy was a pipe dream. Now everyone is talking about it,” he said.
Macron stated that the member states of the EU should avoid becoming “vassals.” He cautioned against adhering to American foreign policy out of “panic reflex”.
Macron also called for an increase in military expenditure, stating, “History is speeding up, the European war economy needs to be sped up in parallel.”
“Europe’s defense industry does not meet all our needs and remains very fragmented,” he said, claiming that this leads to the EU to rely on American and Asian suppliers.
“If the tensions between the two superpowers heat up … we won’t have the time nor the resources to finance our strategic autonomy and we will become vassals,” he added.
Macron mentioned that it was crucial for Brussels to “understand” China’s position on Taiwan. “As Europeans, our concern is our unity. The Chinese are also concerned with their unity, and Taiwan is a component [of this unity] from their point of view,” he added.
Issue of Taiwan and China
When Mao Zedong’s Communist Party beat Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist Party (also known as the Kuomintang) in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, it was the beginning of nearly 75 years of unrest in China. The defeated government, known as the Republic of China, retreated to Taiwan, a nearly twice the size of New Jersey island located 100 miles off the southeastern Chinese coast. Mao established his own government in Beijing, which is still known as the People’s Republic of China today. Both claimed to be the only legitimate authority in China. The separation was and remains a sensitive issue for Beijing. President Xi Jinping, like previous Chinese leaders, has stated that China desires peaceful unification with Taiwan, but has not ruled out the use of force to subdue the island. In the past few months, tensions circling Taiwan have increased. China is conducting a series of military exercises around the island at present. In recent decades, as China’s military capabilities have grown, so has its pressure on Taiwan. Since the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, visited the island in August of last year, near-daily activity, such as Chinese warplane sorties has increased. Taiwan was colonized for centuries by the Netherlands, Spain, China, and Japan prior to the conclusion of World War II, but the Chinese Communist Party hasn’t ever ruled the island. Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations and has formal diplomatic relations with only 13 countries. |
