By Xinghui Kok
SINGAPORE, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The new French ambassador to Singapore said on Monday that France and Europe do not want their Asian partners to have to choose between the United States and China.
Stephen Marchisio, who took office on Tuesday, said France sees increasing pressure, "maybe more on the U.S. side", that partners in Asia must make a choice.
"It's very important to say we can talk to everybody," he said. "We don't want anyone to choose."
Marchisio was speaking to journalists at a luncheon in Singapore, where French President Emmanuel Macron will deliver the keynote address on May 31 at Asia's largest security meeting.
Marchisio said the president will insist during his address that each state in the region can defend its own interests.
"You can do that even if you disagree with the Chinese political model. And you can do that even if you don't want a military base from the U.S. on your soil," he said.
The U.S. embassy in Singapore referred questions to the G7 statement signed in Munich by France and the United States, which said all members were committed to "a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific region".
(Additional reporting by Gerry Doyle; Editing by Neil Fullick)
((Gerry.Doyle@thomsonreuters.com;))
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