French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday said that the growing divide between the United States and China is the main risk the world is facing today. Speaking in Singapore, he called for stronger cooperation between countries in Asia and Europe to protect the international order, Reuters reported.
Macron is visiting the region as part of France’s and the European Union’s efforts to improve trade ties in Asia, especially as US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies create uncertainty.
“I will be clear, France is a friend and an ally of the United States, and is a friend, and we do cooperate – even if sometimes we disagree and compete with China,” Macron said during a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a key defence forum in Asia.
He warned against taking sides between the two superpowers. “You have to choose a side. If we do so, we will kill the global order,” Macron said.
He added, “We will destroy, methodically, all the institutions we created after the Second World War to preserve peace and to have cooperation on health, on climate, on human rights and so on.”
Macron said both Asia and Europe have a shared interest in avoiding the collapse of international systems. “The time for non-alignment has undoubtedly passed, but the time for coalitions of action has come,” he said. “Countries that can act together must give themselves every means to do so.”
Macron’s visit follows recent trips to Southeast Asia by leaders from China, Japan and Europe, showing the region’s growing importance in global trade and supply chains.
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He also spoke about the war in Ukraine, warning that the conflict affects how the world sees the ability of the US and Europe to handle crises elsewhere.
“If the United States of America and the Europeans are unable to fix in the short term the Ukraine crisis, I think the credibility of the US and Europe to fix any other crisis in this region will be very low,” he said.
Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 after years of conflict in the country’s eastern parts. Russia now controls almost one fifth of Ukrainian territory, but both sides have suffered heavy losses.
Macron added that failing to respond to Russia’s actions could send a dangerous message to the rest of the world, including Asia.
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“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… what could happen in Taiwan?” he asked.
China sees Taiwan as part of its territory and has increased military pressure around the island. China has held large military drills and said Taiwan has no right to be called a state.
