SINGAPORE: The new French ambassador to Singapore said on Monday that France and Europe do not want their Asian partners to have to choose between the US and China.
Stephen Marchisio, who took office on Tuesday, said France sees increasing pressure, maybe more on the US side, that partners in Asia must make a choice.
Its very important to say we can talk to everybody, he said.
We dont want anyone to choose.
Marchisio was speaking to journalists at a luncheon in Singapore, where French President Emmanuel Macron will deliver the keynote address on May 31 at Asias largest security meeting.
Marchisio said the president will insist during his address that each state in the region can defend its own interests.
You can do that even if you disagree with the Chinese political model. And you can do that even if you dont want a military base from the US on your soil, he said.
The US embassy in Singapore referred questions to the G7 statement signed in Munich by France and the US, which said all members were committed to a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific region.