China condemns Macron’s Taiwan-Ukraine comparison as "double standard"

China has sharply criticised attempts to link the defence of Ukraine with the need to protect Taiwan from a potential Chinese invasion, calling such comparisons a “double standard.”

The remarks came in response to comments made by French President Emmanuel Macron during the Shangri-La Dialogue defence meeting in Singapore on May 30, Caliber.Az reports, citing Western media. 

In a broad address on the risks of growing division between China and the United States, Macron warned that allowing Russia to seize any part of Ukraine without consequences could embolden China to take aggressive action against Taiwan. “What could happen in Taiwan?” he asked, underscoring the potential regional and global ramifications.

Shortly after, China’s embassy in Singapore posted on Facebook that comparing Taiwan to Ukraine was “unacceptable” and insisted that the two issues were fundamentally different. The post emphasised that Taiwan is an “internal affair” for China and accused those making the comparison of applying a “double standard with a double standard.”

Although the embassy did not mention Macron by name, the post was accompanied by a photo of him speaking at the event. Beijing has historically sent senior military officials to the Shangri-La Dialogue, but this year’s delegation was limited to lower-ranking military academics — a sign of strained ties amid growing tensions.

China considers Taiwan a renegade province and has increased military drills and political pressure to assert sovereignty over the island, which rejects Beijing’s claims and maintains it alone should decide its future.

U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned at the conference on Saturday that China represents an “imminent” threat, stating that any attempt to conquer Taiwan “would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world.”

Diplomats from the region revealed that concerns about the possibility of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, emboldened by a Russian victory in Ukraine, were recurrent themes in informal discussions throughout the conference. “The message from many backing Ukraine is that the line must be held if a message is to be sent to China,” said one East Asian envoy.

The Shangri-La Dialogue continues through June 1, serving as a key forum for security talks amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific region.

For the record, the 22nd edition of the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's premier defence and security summit, took place from May 30 to June 1, 2025, at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore. Organised annually by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the Dialogue serves as a key platform for high-level discussions on regional security challenges and defence cooperation. 

The summit attracted representatives from 47 countries, including 40 ministerial-level delegates, 20 chiefs of defence forces, over 20 senior defence officials, and prominent academics

By Khagan Isayev