The Chinese government has criticised recent remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron, who appeared to draw a parallel between the defence of Ukraine and the risk of a future Chinese military move against Taiwan. The comments were made during Macron’s speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit in Singapore on Friday evening.
In his address, the French president warned that if Russia were allowed to seize parts of Ukraine with impunity, similar precedents could emerge elsewhere, including in East Asia.
“If we consider that Russia could be allowed to take a part of the territory of Ukraine without any restriction, without any constraint, without any reaction of the global order, how would you phrase what could happen in Taiwan? What would you do the day something happened in the Philippines?” Macron asked, pointing to the broader implications for international order and deterrence.
Beijing responded sharply on Saturday. The Chinese Embassy in Singapore issued a statement rejecting any comparison between the two cases as “unacceptable”. Without naming Macron directly, the embassy released a Facebook post featuring an image of him speaking at the conference and accused some actors of applying “double standards”.
“These are two fundamentally different matters that cannot be compared,” the statement read. It went on to assert that Taiwan is an internal matter for China, stating, “Taiwan is purely China’s domestic affair.” The embassy added: “If someone tries to criticise double standards by using double standards, the only result we can get is still double standards.”
Though Macron was not explicitly mentioned in the embassy’s statement, the photograph accompanying the post left little doubt as to whom the remarks were directed at.
President Macron’s comments came as part of a broader warning about the risks of a widening geopolitical rift between China and the United States. He urged continued dialogue, while stressing the importance of resisting authoritarian aggression and defending the principles of sovereignty and international law.
Beijing’s reaction underscores the ongoing sensitivity surrounding Taiwan, which it considers a breakaway province with no right to statehood. China has ramped up both military and political pressure on the island in recent years, increasing the frequency of exercises in the Taiwan Strait and reiterating its stance that Taiwan must eventually be reunified with the mainland—by force if necessary.
The government of Taiwan, for its part, rejects Beijing’s claims. Taipei insists that the island’s future can only be decided by its own people, and maintains its de facto independence with support from a number of international partners, including the United States.
This year’s Shangri-La Dialogue has taken place against a backdrop of heightened concern over global security. China opted to send a relatively low-profile delegation of military academics to the event, a departure from previous years when high-ranking defence officials represented Beijing.
Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also addressed the forum on Saturday. He described China as posing an “imminent threat”, and warned that any attempt to forcibly take Taiwan would have “devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific region and the world as a whole”.
His remarks reflect growing concern in Washington and allied capitals that Beijing may seek to act more decisively on Taiwan if Russia is seen to succeed in Ukraine without facing serious repercussions.
Diplomatic observers present at the Singapore meeting noted that Macron’s views were not isolated. According to several participants, informal discussions during the summit frequently touched upon the risk that a Russian victory in Ukraine might embolden other authoritarian powers, including China. One delegate described this view as a “recurring theme in private talks”.
Although France does not maintain formal relations with Taiwan, it has, along with other EU member states, expressed support for preserving the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and upholding freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific.
Macron has previously urged Europe to pursue “strategic autonomy” and avoid becoming entangled in US-China confrontation. However, his comments in Singapore suggest a more assertive stance on global security challenges, particularly where authoritarian regimes threaten to redraw borders by force.
While China’s official response has focused on opposing external interference in what it calls its “internal affairs”, the broader context of Macron’s speech was a call for unified resistance to aggression in any region. His linkage of Ukraine and Taiwan reflects a growing view among Western policymakers that challenges to international norms are interconnected.
The incident adds to the growing strain in relations between China and Western governments, particularly over issues involving sovereignty, regional security, and the future of Taiwan. As the Shangri-La Dialogue concludes on Sunday, these tensions remain a focal point for discussion among defence officials and diplomats.
Read also:
Taiwan Intercepts Chinese-Crewed Vessel Suspected of Cutting Undersea Cable
