French president delivers veiled warning to Beijing during speech in Singapore.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned China that NATO could become more deeply involved in Asia if Beijing does not do more to stop North Korea from taking part in Russia’s war on Ukraine.
“North Korea in Ukraine is a big question for all of us. If China doesn’t want NATO to be involved in Southeast Asia, it should prevent [North Korea] from being engaged on European soil,” Macron said Friday during an address at a major defense summit in Singapore.
…this is the hardest part of being a democracy these days…you inherit the shit sandwich the US left for you, even if you didn’t do anything to create the problem and you can’t afford to simply look the other way when another democracy comes under attack, even if you likely don’t have the means to help.
Look at France taking the reigns. Good for you, France. The US is led by a weak ass TACO right now. We can’t help in this way… We are fucking weak. Weak ass US.
A soggy taco.
Do you think the United States is weak by chance? I kind of got that feeling from your post but you didn’t come right out and say it so I wanted to verify, thanks!
Nah. They voted. They’re weak literally by their choice.
US isn’t weak but our leadership has taken a massive downswing in the last 5 months. The level of incompetence they’ve been able to achieve since Jan is amazing.
The usa only have better technology
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Regardless of whether what you claim is true, it does not address the supply of weapons coming from North Korea.
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Why “F Ukraine”?
Don’t feed the Russian bot.
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How is it rogue or hostile? Did they attack another country? They also gave up their nuclear weapons.
Are you lying?
Sweet a new person to block!
What about sending soldiers to fight russia
Ukr is not like russia. Ukraine say they just need weapons and arms to defend themselves for giving up nukes, nothing else.
Why eould you refuse military aids? This can save many ukranian civilians
no idea, ask them.
I’m sure they would take the help of soldiers too
I think they do accept help from mercenaries and volunteers.
NK is already on the front lines in Ukraine wtf does he mean
that is what he means.
so his solution to the ukraine war is more imperialism in asia 🙄
What imperialism?
This is why the current political climate is so extremely dangerous. The world has spent so long developing the Global Nash Equilibrium that nobody believes that anybody is in a position to actually follow through on any of the threats they make. Everybody is fully willing to believe that all their opponents are bluffing, and fully willing to call those bluffs. But all the bluffing was part of the Nash Equilibrium, so actually calling those bluffs is destroying the Equilibrium. The only way we can go back to the balance is if the threats become credible again, and that can only happen if people start actually following through on some of their threats for a while. And that would make for an extremely rough decade.
What is he talking about? Japan, Skorea, and Mongolia are already NATO global partners.
‘Partners’ doesn’t really mean much though.
NATO is European only, there is little to no chance any of us in the Pacific are joining on to save Europe in a land war for a third time, as there no chance Europe would ever lift a finger to help Australia or Japan if China decides it’s go time.
as there no chance Europe would ever lift a finger to help Australia or Japan if China decides it’s go time.
This is absolute nonsense by the way.
That is probably true. NATO members will look at cost benefits just like everyone else. SE Asia needs to be responsible for its own security, not rely on others.
NATO is not europe only, though, US is not europe… Anyone can apply to join.
Yes, that’s what Quad is about - it’s a step towards rebuilding a Pacific defense alliance. (Quad isn’t yet an alliance)
NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. So technically, not everybody can join. That’s why there are the global partners.
Has Pakistan shot down the French jets? India hasn’t confirmed those losses. If true then France doesn’t have much power to project.
On 7 May, Indian and Pakistani fighter jets battled for over an hour. Pakistan claimed that three Dassault Rafales, one MiG-29, one Su-30MKI fighter jet, and one Israeli-manufactured IAI Heron UAV belonging to the Indian Air Force were shot down. If true, would first time that a French-origin Dassault Rafale has been lost in combat, reportedly having been shot down by the Chinese-origin Chengdu J-10. This, along with the performance of Chinese-origin PL-15E missiles in the combat, reportedly gained global attention.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_India–Pakistan_conflict
All the downvotes, what’s wrong with my comment?
Southeast Asia out here catching strays I guess? Someone want to help me figure out why a country northeast of china sending troops to a country north of China to invade Ukraine would prompt NATO to engage in proxy war in countries south of China?
Talking about expanding NATO to include southeast Asian countries. South Korea, Phillipines, or Indonesia, not to create a random proxy war.
Is South Korea in Southeast Asia?
Because North Korea doesn’t make any geopolitical moves without asking China first. They are by far their primary trade partner and arguably closest ally, with literally the only defense treaty to China out of all countries in the world.
Troops getting to Russia in order to fight alongside them in their invasion of Ukraine have to either pass through China for the shorter route, or go through the tiny 17km sliver of Russia-NK border on the far east of the Asian continent that China monitors very closely (more likely). Either way, China is giving their approval to NK for the troop movements.
Okay, but where does Southeast Asia come into any of this?
It’s metaphoric. Macron is saying “if you don’t stay out of our geopolitical backyard, we will become more closely involved in yours”.
China is increasingly invested politically and financially throughout SEA (Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and more).
Okay. Kind of gross still
More gross than China enabling North Korea to send troops to help Russia attack Ukraine?
Not even close IMO.
The same gross, there isn’t an active war in Southeast Asia [but there is an active genocide in Myanmar that nobody wants to touch], so if they want to retaliate they should do it on the Korean border.
It’s naïve to think that any military action in one part of the world does not affect every other part of the world
I’m not asking about the metaphysics of war and how we’re all connected in the great chain of life, I’m asking the casua belli to get Southeast Asia involved as a consequence of North Korean military action.
edit: I didn’t want to doubt the intelligence of my fellow lemmings but if it’s not clear North Korea is not in fucking Southeast Asia
Jesus, you really struggle with this don’t you
NK isn’t in Southeast Asia, but Southeast Asia is the geopolitically contested region that China cares the most about dominating (at this point in time).
Macron said “keep your dog from shitting in my yard or I’ll let mine loose in yours”
Okay so, yes, launching proxy wars is back on the table?
Wouldn’t it be China launching the war if they attack? France is only saying they would defend in the event China initiates. Do not try to reverse the blame here.
How does any of that justify pulling Southeast Asia into a war when the front is in Ukraine and the soldiers in question are coming out of the Korean peninsula? France doesn’t own Vietnam any more.
No one said anything about pulling SEA into a war. No one said anything about Europe forcing SEA like colonizers. Shit has changed in the past few decades.
NATO is a mutual defense pact. He’s just talking about setting up a similar defense pact in SEA and East Asia.
As mentioned, SEA is relevant because those nations have the potential to be China’s Ukraine.
SEA is likely to be open to some kind of mutual defense pact, as China has been testing borders for a long time, especially in the South China Sea. I believe the only reason they haven’t is because of smaller military, trade relations with China, and the unlikely support of East Asia. East Asia looks down on SEA. If Europe engages in more trade, offers military support, and mediates improved relations between SEA and East Asia, I think a mutual defense pact is all but given. That said, the trade and military support are a tall order.
In any case, this is basically reciprocal action. See the comment about dogs shitting in yards.
Why is NATO concerned about Ukraine? Maybe you should have accepted their application. Didn’t y’all reject them?
NATO doesn’t allow nations to join while in a tive conflict, for good reason.
Every European country would be happy to let them join once this is over.
Not sure Hungary does. But most of Europe I agree
Well, we told them that they can join without serious security measures against an Invasion from Russia.
Its an alliance not Walmart
Right. That’ll show them… Western leadership has never read a book on China have they? Him saying this all but ensures China is going to the opposite.
Look at this serious and credible threat! Wow, I guess Xi Jiping is quaking in his boots right now
What kind of idiot would underestimate France. They’re a nuclear power, hold a permanent seat on the Security Council, and brought us democracy as we know it.
Is the plan to kill some more millions of southeast Asians like good ol’ days
I… don’t think so? I’m pretty sure they’ll just be a thorn in China’s side like they are in Russia’s.
It is, hence the downvotes. Liberals look at what we did to North Korea and Vietnam during the war and think “we should’ve gone harder bc they’re evil communists”. Also apparently they just don’t give a shit about trying not to start another world war
I don’t think Americans and Europeans know how much invasions into southeast Asia in the 1800s and prior there were. It’s not a post-WW2 thing. It’s centuries of atrocities in the region. Someday the UK are going to be grandstanding against India too and people out here will be confused why Indians aren’t wistfully looking back to the days of the British empire exporting foods by coercion while Indians go through famines
Everyone’s knows this and looking back to something that happened 200 years ago trying to make it relevant to today’s politics is laughable to say the least.
China is clearly showing its imperial ambitions. Remember Tibet? Somehow tankies convenient forget it even with monks literally burning themselves to get attention they get none.
Europeen colonialism was changed to neoimperialism https://youtu.be/36vYRkVYeVw
Tankies perceive the old Tibet like the West perceives Iran, as an abusive Theocracy. That changes the evaluation.
I have Irish heritage. That’s literally why my family emigrated to the US
NATO has obvious problems even near its own borders, Macron’s threats aren’t even funny, they’re pathetic.
With the majority of the Russian military tied up in Ukraine NATO can absolutely afford to increase their involvement in South East Asia, especially considering NATO has significant naval power that doesn’t need to do much beyond keeping Russian junkers from ripping up undersea cables.
