TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Tuesday (April 18) thanked the international Group of Seven (G7) for its communique reaffirming support for Taiwan following comments by French President Emmanuel Macron.

While meeting in Karuizawa, Nagano, ministers from the G7 issued a communique that reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, which they described as "an indispensable element in security and prosperity in the international community." They called for a peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues and added there has been "no change in the basic positions of the G7 members on Taiwan, including stated one China policies."

The ministers expressed support for Taiwan's "meaningful participation in international organizations" such as the World Health Assembly and WHO technical meetings. They said that Taiwan should be able to participate in organizations when "statehood is not a prerequisite and as an observer or guest where it is."

They also reminded Beijing of "the need to uphold the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter and abstain from threats, coercion, intimidation, or the use of force.” They added, “We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion.”

In a press release, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) welcomed the content of the statement and thanked G7 member states for their firm support for Taiwan. It also pointed out that China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs "has not changed its usual tactics of distorting facts and the consistent trick of reversing right and wrong."

MOFA condemned Beijing for "falsely claiming that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory and claiming the statement from the G7 foreign ministers' meeting is connivance and support for Taiwan independence, undermining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait."

The ministry reiterated that Taiwan and China are "not affiliated with each other. This has been an objective fact for a long time." It added, "Taiwan's sovereignty belongs only to the Taiwanese people, and only the Taiwanese people have the right to decide Taiwan's future."

"As a responsible member of the Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan will continue to take concrete actions to protect universal values such as democracy, freedom, human rights, and the rule of law." The ministry added that it is also willing to strengthen cooperation with G7 members and work together for the "prosperity and stability of the international community."

On April 9, French President Emmanuel Macron was cited by Politico as saying that Europe needs to lessen its reliance on the U.S. and evade becoming involved in a clash between China and the U.S. over Taiwan. Macron argued that in order to achieve his goal of “strategic autonomy” for Europe, it must avoid getting involved in crises that are "not ours."

He expressed fears that "overcome with panic" over a crisis in the Taiwan Strait, European nations would "believe we are just America's followers." The French president said the question European countries must grapple with is whether it is in "our interest to accelerate (a crisis) on Taiwan?"

Macron said: "No. The worse 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."

His comments on Taiwan quickly drew criticism from many prominent figures in the West. Paul Massaro, a senior policy advisor for the U.S. Helsinki Commission, posted a meme saying that "macronizing" has joined "scholzing" in the "lexicon of shame." Jakub Janda, director of the European Values Center for Security Policy based in Prague, posted a tweet in which he wrote that Macron had previously thrown Central Eastern Europe "under the bus" when he tried to appease Russia and is now doing the same with Taiwan.

During a visit to the Netherlands on April 12, Macron defended his comments and said, "Being an ally does not mean being a vassal."