(Amsterdam) French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that being an “ally” of the United States does not necessarily mean being a “vassal”, taking full responsibility for controversial comments made on Taiwan.

“Being an ally does not mean being a vassal. It is not because we are allies […] that we no longer have the right to think for ourselves,” he said at a press conference in Amsterdam.

“France is for the status quo in Taiwan”, it “supports the one-China policy and the search for a peaceful settlement of the situation”, he added.

Emmanuel Macron sparked a wave of misunderstanding in the United States and Europe by calling on the European Union not to “follow” Washington or Beijing on the issue of Taiwan.

Remarks immediately interpreted as a distancing from Washington while the United States has also been very committed to Ukraine since the start of the Russian offensive.

“Macron, who is a friend, is with China licking his ass,” added former US President Donald Trump.

“The position of France and the Europeans is the same for Taiwan: we are for the status quo”, however declared the French president in Amsterdam.

“It is constant this policy, it has not changed,” he added.

Mr. Macron also deplored that Donald Trump contributes to an “escalation”.

“When he was president I didn’t comment on his sentences, I’m not going to do that now that he’s not president anymore,” he said.

France is not uninterested in tensions around Taiwan, a French diplomatic source said earlier on Wednesday, as China conducted military exercises to put pressure on the island.