Paris (CNSNews.com) – French President Emmanuel Macron has used a visit to the Netherlands to lay out his plans for “European sovereignty,” amid ongoing controversy over recent remarks about the need for Europe to avoid being dragged into escalation between the U.S. and China over Taiwan.

In an interview after flying out of Beijing, Macron warned that European countries were at risk of being drawn into “crises that are not ours,” which would prevent Europe from being able to develop its “strategic autonomy.”

With regard to a potential conflict over Taiwan, he suggested that Europeans should not become “followers” of Washington or Beijing.

In a joint press conference on Wednesday with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Macron appeared to stand by his earlier comments.

Being an ally of the U.S. “does not mean being a vassal,” he said, and “does not mean that we [Europeans] do not have the right to think for ourselves.”

He also stressed that France’s stance on the China-Taiwan dispute has not changed: France still supports the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait, and “the search for a peaceful resolution” to the dispute. Beijing claims the island democracy as part of “one China,” and seeks to reincorporate it, by force if necessary.

Macron declined to respond to comments by former U.S. President Trump, who in a Fox News interview said that Macron, who he called “a friend,” was “over in China kissing his [President Xi Jinping’s] ass.” Macron said he had “nothing to say” about Trump’s comments.

On the first day of his visit to the Netherlands, Macron delivered a speech in which he discussed the theme of “European sovereignty.” It may once have sounded like a “French idea” or even “wishful thinking,” he said, but being too dependent on other world powers placed Europe in a position of being “unable to decide for itself.”

“Defending [European] sovereignty does not mean turning away from our allies, but being able to choose our partners and shape our own destiny rather than being mere witnesses to dramatic developments in our world.”

Europe would maintain its strong relationships with its allies, Macron said, “in a cooperative manner, in keeping with our spirit of openness and partnership.”

Macron’s speech, at an international human rights research and policy center in The Hague, was interrupted at the start by demonstrators who heckled him over the state of French democracy – a likely reference to the political turbulence at home over his government’s pension reform proposals. A banner held up by protesters said, in English, “President of violence and hypocrisy.”

Macron tried to engage the protesters, saying it was “very important to have a social debate” and he could answer their questions if they gave him time to do so.

He added that “this is a democracy and a democracy is exactly a place where you can demonstrate.” Security officials ejected the protesters.

Meanwhile in a press release, Macron’s office defended the president’s position on European strategic autonomy, saying that Europe “must be able to make its different and unique voice heard.”

Government spokesman Olivier Véran dismissed Trump’s critical remarks, telling France 2 television, “Fortunately, Europe has the right to have its own positions.”

Commenting on Macron’s speech in The Hague, European affairs consultant Yves Bertoncini told the LCI TV channel that while Macron was dealing with issues on both the domestic and international fronts, “he made this speech in an international context that he set on fire because of his unfortunate remarks made last week on his return from China.”

Bertoncini said there was consensus in the European Union about economic autonomy, “but strategic autonomy in economic matters is not the same thing as strategic autonomy in diplomatic and military matters.”

When it came to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he said, “I don’t see what [European] strategic autonomy would have changed.”

“And autonomy from whom – the Americans? About what? Taiwan? But that concerns the E.U. as well,” Bertoncini said.

“How many E.U. countries support this ‘strategic autonomy?” asked Volodymyr Poselsky, the Paris-based head of a non-governmental organization called Ukraine in Europe.

“It is not E.U. countries that must clarify this issue, but Macron,” Poselsky told LCI, adding that there were countries in the bloc, like Poland, that did not share the French president’s view.

(Patrick Goodenough contributed to this story.)