Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said comments from French President Emmanuel Macron raising some doubts about defending Taiwan from a possible future Chinese invasion were “galling.”
Pompeo told talk radio host John Catsimatidis on his “Cats & Cosby Show” on WABC 770 AM that the people of the United States should know that not every European feels the same way that Macron does.
“Macron just simply got it wrong. He botched it. He botched it for his own people,” Pompeo said. “And we should make clear to him that that’s unacceptable.”
Macron was quoted as saying in an interview with a French newspaper that was published Sunday that “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 U.S. agenda and a Chinese overreaction,” he claimed.
Pompeo said the comments were “galling” to every American who served in Afghanistan and those who warned Europeans that they should increase their defenses to protect themselves from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Europe has a real responsibility to lead across the world,” he said. “They are wealthy nations, and if they are not going to do it, there’s a real danger that France will fall out of the circle of nations that care about basic human rights and dignity — the things that every American cares about.”
The French president’s comments came after he visited China and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Macron urged Xi to push for peace between Russia and Ukraine during the meeting.
China considers Taiwan to be a part of its territory awaiting reunification, while the United States recognizes China to be the legitimate government and considers Taiwan’s status to be unsettled.
The Taiwan Relations Act requires the U.S. to send weapons to Taiwan to help it defend itself but does not necessarily commit the U.S. to directly defending Taiwan if China invades.
China has stepped up military drills in recent months amid increased tensions between China and Taiwan and the conflict in Russia and Ukraine.