French President Emmanuel Macron has defended his recent comments about Taiwan, in which he said France should not get caught up in an escalation between the US and China, writes BBC.

He made the comments in an interview over the weekend following his three-day state visit to China.

He also said that being a US ally did not mean being a “vassal”.

His remarks have drawn criticism from politicians and other public figures on both sides of the Atlantic. But on Wednesday during a visit to the Netherlands he said he stood by the comments.

“Being an ally does not mean being a vassal... doesn’t mean that we don’t have the right to think for ourselves”, Mr Macron said at a press conference in the Netherlands during his two-day visit.

The French president also said that nothing had changed in France’s support for the “status quo” in Taiwan and that Paris “supports the One China policy and the search for a peaceful resolution to the situation”.