Macron gives Vietnamese students a lesson in 'impulsive' superpowers
Between jabs at Donald Trump's US trade tariffs and criticism of Beijing's assertiveness in the South China Sea, French President Emmanuel Macron warned Vietnamese students Tuesday that "on the impulse of a superpower, everything can change".
Macron was in Vietnam as part of a six-day Southeast Asian tour, as he tries to pitch his offer of a "third way" between the United States and China to a region caught up in a confrontation between the two.
On Tuesday he departed Hanoi for Indonesia, the next stop on his trip which will also include Singapore.
Earlier he spoke to a group of around 150 students at the University of Science and Technology in Hanoi, who listened through translation headsets.
"The conflict between China and the United States of America is a geopolitical fact that casts the shadow of risk of a much larger conflict in this important region," he told them.
AFP | Ludovic MARIN
China would do well to remember that "freedom of navigation, maritime freedom is important for the South China Sea", he said, adding that what is happening there "worries everyone".
Macron quickly moved on to a swipe at the United States, which he described as "imposing tariffs according to the side of the bed on which he woke up", before presenting France as a reliable alternative.
His address came a day after he visited a Hanoi war memorial to those who fought against French colonial occupation, which ended in 1954 following a bloody uprising by Vietnamese pro-independence forces.
Vietnam has been careful to follow a balancing act between China and the United States.
It shares concerns about Beijing's increasing assertiveness in the contested waterway, but it has close economic ties with its giant neighbour.
Communist-run Vietnam has also been threatened with a hefty 46 percent tariff by US President Donald Trump as part of his global trade blitz.
France's "Indo-Pacific strategy" could offer a "path of freedom" and "sovereignty", Macron told the students.
More than 100 other students who were unable to fit into the university hall where he spoke tuned in via video link from a side room, often clapping as he spoke.
Some seemed convinced, seeing an opportunity in France to avoid the chaos that many international students in the United States are enduring after Trump attempted to block Harvard University from enrolling foreigners.
AFP | Ludovic MARIN
"Given the context in the US where visa issues for international students are quite risky, I will prioritise studying in France because it is more stable," 21-year-old Nguyen Quang Bach told AFP.
Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh, 21, who chatted to Macron ahead of the speech, called the president "friendly and approachable".
During the speech, Macron also urged the students, a few of whom spoke French, not to fall into the "world of fools" that prevails on social media, where people are free to criticise with short messages "those whose thoughts you do not understand".
"I do not believe all words are equal. I think there are people who know (things) and people who know less," he said.
By Francesco Fontemaggi
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
eNCA
22 minutes ago
- eNCA
Military bases or vital waterway: Iran weighs response to US strikes
Iran has vowed to retaliate for US air strikes on its nuclear facilities, and has two main options: attacking American forces in the region, and closing the strategic Strait of Hormuz. An advisor to Iran's supreme leader issued a warning on Sunday, saying any US base in the region that takes part in attacks is a "legitimate target". Disrupting traffic through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for oil and gas, would send energy prices soaring in a global inflationary shock. Closing the waterway would be "extremely dangerous", Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat, said on Monday. AFP looks at the two scenarios and their possible implications. - Strait of Hormuz - AFP | Jonathan WALTER, Valentina BRESCHI The narrow, U-shaped seaway snaking between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula is the gateway for Gulf energy shipments to global markets, carrying one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas exports. Closing the 50-kilometre (30-mile) wide channel could spike oil to $120 a barrel, according to Deutsche Bank research, raising prices of transport, food and utilities around the world. "It's in the best interest of all Middle Eastern countries to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and prevent any supply disruption," Rystad Energy senior analyst Lu Ming Pang wrote last week. Currently, traders do not appear too concerned. Brent crude was trading at $76 on Monday, marginally changed from Friday's close. "Looking at the oil price this morning, it is clear that the oil market doesn't assign a very high probability of (a closure) happening," said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB bank. The big question is whether Iran is prepared to detonate this economic hand-grenade. Despite threats in the past, including in 2011 as oil sanctions loomed, it has not pulled the pin. AFP | Nalini LEPETIT-CHELLA, Omar KAMAL According to a senior European official, the Iranians do not have the means to block the strait "long-term", but they could hamper shipping. But "it would be a form of suicide to do that," the official said. "The effect on Israel would be close to zero, the effect on themselves immense, as well as on the United States, Europe and China." Iranian forces have nearly 200 fast patrol boats that can fire anti-ship missiles or torpedoes, plus mine-laying vessels, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. But the US Fifth Fleet, a major naval force, is stationed across the Gulf in Bahrain, and Iran remains under daily fire from Israeli warplanes and drones. Iran's own energy exports, in spite of sanctions, remain an important source of income for the world's ninth-biggest oil-producing country. - US bases - With United States military bases spread around the Gulf countries to Iran's west, there is no shortage of potential targets. Kuwait, in a legacy of the 1990 Gulf war, houses about 13,500 US forces, while the biggest US base in the region is Al Udeid in Qatar. The US Fifth Fleet, covering the Gulf, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean, is based in Bahrain, and about 3,500 US personnel are stationed at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. In Iraq, US troops are deployed in various installations, including the Al-Asad and Arbil air bases, as part of an anti-jihadist coalition. Iran-backed Iraqi armed factions have threatened Washington's interests should it join Israel's campaign, having targeted them in previous years. Increased US involvement in the Iran-Israel war risks attacks "on US interests, US bases and such across the region", said Renad Mansour, senior research fellow at Chatham House. "The US attack on Iran has now meant that this war is between Israel, the United States and Iran, which means that across the region, Iran may seek to target the US," he added. However, this option is also fraught for Iran as it risks isolating itself from the powerful Gulf monarchies that enjoy good relations with Washington. "Tehran is unlikely to strike Gulf Arab states," said Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at King's College London. "Even as it sees the UAE and Saudi Arabia as quiet enablers of the US-Israeli axis, Iran understands that any attack on their soil would likely unify them against it and open the door for greater American military presence. "Instead, Iran may issue veiled warnings to these states, use regional proxies to pressure them, or engage in cyber or intelligence disruptions targeting their interests -- maintaining plausible deniability while raising the cost of involvement." By Talek Harris With Rouba El Husseini In Baghdad
eNCA
23 minutes ago
- eNCA
Where is Iran's uranium? Questions abound after US strikes
After President Donald Trump bragged US strikes had "obliterated" Iran's nuclear capabilities, officials cautioned it was still too soon to assess the impact on the country's nuclear programme. Many questions remain after Sunday's strikes, especially about the whereabouts of Iran's sensitive stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent -- a short step from the 90 percent required for a nuclear weapon. - Where is Iran's enriched uranium? - The US attacks, carried out by B-2 stealth bombers, targeted three Iranian nuclear sites: Isfahan and Iran's main enrichment plants in Fordo and Natanz. While significant damage has been reported, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has voiced concern about Iran's stockpile of near-weapons-grade uranium. Tehran has an estimated 408.6 kilogrammes of uranium enriched to 60 percent, according to the UN nuclear watchdog, whose inspectors last saw that stockpile on June 10. That material, if further refined, would theoretically be sufficient to produce more than nine nuclear bombs. IAEA head Rafael Grossi on Monday demanded access to Iran's nuclear sites, saying the agency needs to "account for" the uranium stockpile. Concerns about the fate of the sensitive stockpile have loomed large. On June 13, the day Israel began its Iran offensive, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sent a letter to the IAEA, announcing the implementation of "special measures to protect nuclear equipment and material". Days before the US attacked, satellite imagery showed vehicles near Fordo's entrance. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had "interesting intelligence" on the matter, declining to elaborate. Israel announced Monday it had carried out strikes to block access routes to Fordo. "It will be difficult if not impossible to track down all of Iran's 60 percent enriched uranium, stored in small canisters that are easily transportable by car," Kelsey Davenport, an expert with the Arms Control Association, told AFP. "They (Iranians) no longer have the capacity to turn that stockpile of highly enriched uranium to weapons-grade uranium, and that was really the goal there," US Vice President JD Vance told ABC News. He added the Trump administration would deal with the uranium "in the coming weeks". - Can Iran still make a nuclear bomb? - Analysts have been treading carefully when addressing this issue. Before the attacks, Iran had about 22,000 centrifuges -- the machines used to enrich uranium. Many of them were damaged when Natanz was hit, the IAEA head said. Grossi also said "very significant damage" is expected to have occurred at Fordo, "given the explosive payload utilised and the extreme vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges". Experts however say that it is unclear how many centrifuges Iran has, with some of them believed to be stored at unknown locations. With "60 percent enriched uranium and a few hundred advanced centrifuges, Iran still has the capability to weaponise, and now there is more political impetus to dash for a bomb", said Davenport. - What are the proliferation risks? - Before the conflict, the IAEA said it had "no indication" of the existence of a "systematic programme" in Iran to produce a nuclear weapon. But without access to nuclear sites, the agency no longer has oversight. Grossi warned Monday that the "global non-proliferation regime that has underpinned international security... could crumble and fall", urging parties to return to diplomacy. Iran ratified the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) in 1970, committing it to declare its nuclear material to the IAEA. But it has recently begun preparing the grounds for a possible withdrawal from the treaty, accusing the agency of acting as a "partner" in Israel's "war of aggression". Reza Najafi, Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, said Monday the "unlawful act of aggression" by the United States had "delivered a fundamental and irreparable blow" to the non-proliferation regime. "I do think there is a major risk that Iran withdraws from the NPT and expels inspectors, or simply does not provide them with access to key sites," said Eric Brewer of the US research institute Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI). He added that Iran could also "over time, build (a) covert" programme like North Korea, which withdrew from the NPT in 2003 and went on to become a nuclear-armed power. By Anne Beade
IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
Iran military chief vows 'firm action' in wake of US attack, Trump urges regime change
Israel said it struck Iran Revolutionary Guards sites in Tehran on June 23, instensifying its attacks a day after the US hit the Islamic republic's nuclear facilities. Image: UGC via AFP Iran's armed forces chief of staff Abdolrahim Mousavi vowed on Monday that the country would take "firm action" in response to US strikes on key nuclear sites. "This crime and desecration will not go unanswered," said Mousavi in a video statement published on state TV, adding that "we will take firm action against the American mistake". Meanwhile Donald thinks Iranians should overthrow their government if it refuses to negotiate on its nuclear program, but the US president is "still interested" in diplomacy, the White House said on Monday. "If the Iranian regime refuses to come to a peaceful diplomatic solution, which the president is still interested and engaging in, by the way, why shouldn't the Iranian people take away the power of this incredibly violent regime that has been suppressing them for decades?" Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News. US bombers attacked Iran's heavily guarded and secretive nuclear enrichment sites over the weekend, joining Israel's military campaign to destroy the Iranian nuclear program. Top officials have repeatedly insisted the US goal is not regime change in Iran, but Trump veered off that messaging Sunday with a social media post saying "why wouldn't there be a Regime change???" The risky bombing mission was a complete success, according to the White House, with Trump announcing in another post that "Monumental Damage was done" to the sites. However, there is no independent verification of how much Iran's nuclear program has been set back. Iran is accused by Israel, the United States and other Western powers of seeking to build nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian power program, something Tehran has always denied. Israel power supplier reports damage near 'strategic' facility Israel's state power company reported supply disruptions on Monday after damage near a "strategic infrastructure facility" at an undisclosed location, as Iran launched a fresh wave of missiles. "Due to damage near a strategic infrastructure facility of the Israel Electric Corporation... disruptions in electricity supply are being reported in several communities in the area," the IEC said in a statement, without specifying the cause. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Avraham Rabukhin, head of the grid division for the Tel Aviv and Coastal district, later told AFP that a missile fell near one of the company's facilities. Journalists were allowed to film the area of the strike, but under Israel's military censorship were ordered not to publish any information about the location. Rabukhin said teams arrived on scene to assess the damage between 15 and 30 minutes after receiving the initial reports. "In the next half an hour, we connected all the disconnected customers," he added. "It's very small damage, and we will do our best to do all repairing works." Iran launched at least three salvos of missiles at Israel on Monday morning, the Israeli military said. Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service reported no casualties. AFP footage showed an excavator clearing away debris at the site of a missile strike in southern Israel. Israel launched large-scale attacks on Iran on June 13 targeting its missile and nuclear facilities, as well as military leaders and security services. The full extent of the damage from Iran's attacks on Israel is not known due to military censorship rules, but at least 50 impacts have been acknowledged nationwide and 24 people have died, according to official figures. Aerial assaults raged between the two foes on Monday, while Tehran vowed retaliation over the bunker-buster bombs American warplanes unleashed at the weekend on three nuclear sites. AFP
