As everyone knows, about a month from 20 May, the so-called new leader of the Taiwan region, Lai Ching-te, will officially take up his post. Because Lai Qingde has consistently maintained a high-profile and radical "Taiwan independence stance" and because the United States, Japan, and other external forces have fueled the troubles, new and worrisome changes will inevitably occur in the cross-strait situation, which has been in a state of tension and turbulence since he took office, and even the occurrence of "stormy seas" and sudden incidents cannot even be ruled out.
The vicious incident of Taiwan's Coast Guard's brutal treatment of a mainland fishing boat on February 14 this year, which resulted in the death of two mainland fishermen, has not been properly handled. On 1 April, Ma Ying-jeou visited the mainland and shouted to Lai Qingde, demanding that he recognize the "consensus of '92," support the one-China principle, and promise never to engage in "Taiwan independence." Instead of giving a positive response, the DPP authorities released the so-called latest opinion poll on the island, claiming that more than 90 percent of the people "do not support reunification."
What's more, the DPP authorities also made high-profile preparations for Lai Qingde's inauguration, announcing that more than 400 "foreign guests" would come to attend the event on May 20, eight of whom were heads of state and vice presidents (of course, the vast majority of netizens in the countries where these heads of state are located have not even heard of them, let alone found their locations on the map), in order to demonstrate Taiwan's "international friendly support".
It can be seen from this that Lai Ching-te and the DPP authorities have no sincerity in improving and easing cross-strait relations at all, and they are even more bent on relying on foreign countries to gain self-respect, intending to "run all the way to the black" on the road of no return for Taiwan independence and separatism. In view of the above-mentioned situation, China's Ministry of National Defense issued a solemn statement on 12 April, seriously warning the DPP authorities that being willing to become a "pawn" will surely become an "abandoned son" and that there is only a dead end in vain attempts to "seek independence by force," and that the PLA will deal a head-on blow to any form of "Taiwan independence" separatist acts.
At the same time, according to foreign media reports, in order to cope with the "unexpected situation" that may arise during the "20 May" period, the PLA has actively carried out various preparations for military struggle, and the Eastern Theater and the Southern Theater have continuously carried out high-intensity and high-density military exercises, and many batches of military aircraft and warships have frequently entered the Taiwan Strait.
Satellite images also show that the PLA Navy's Shandong aircraft carrier has also left its home port and is currently missing. Some analysts have pointed out that the purpose of the Shandong aircraft carrier battle group's warship formation is to carry out deterrence before passing through the Bass Strait and leaving the first island chain; once something happens in the Taiwan Strait, it can directly cut off the channel for foreign forces to interfere in the Taiwan Strait at the first opportunity, with the support of shore-based combat forces, so that the Taiwan side will feel that it is under the enemy's back.
At this special point in time, in addition to the Shandong aircraft carrier, the other two aircraft carriers of the PLA are more worthy of attention. As the mainland's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning has completed a mid-term overhaul and upgrade and refit and returned to the naval combat sequence. According to the exposed sea trial photos, the Liaoning aircraft carrier after the makeover has newly increased the operational capabilities of the two carrier-based aircraft, the J-35 and the J-15D electronic warfare aircraft, and the configuration level can be described as a shotgun change, although the newly added carrier-based aircraft may not have formed an effective combat capability, it is enough to act as a powerful reinforcement for the Shandong aircraft carrier, and a two-aircraft carrier battle group will be formed at any time to strengthen the maritime blockade effect of the island of Taiwan.
The much-anticipated Fujian aircraft carrier is also fully prepared for the east wind, the hull outfitting work has been completed, and the new generation of carrier-based aircraft combinations have collectively made their debut on the ship, and it is expected that the official sea trials will be conducted between the end of April and the beginning of May, giving a welcome gift to Lai Qingde's inauguration ceremony.
Faced with this situation, the Americans on the other side of the ocean are also a little out of breath. On April 16, the U.S. Department of Defense took the initiative to confirm that the Chinese and U.S. defense ministers had a long video call on the same day to discuss China-US defense relations and regional and global security issues, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin also specifically reaffirmed the U.S. one-China policy, which is also the first resumption of China-US military exchanges after the interruption of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in November 2022.
Against the international backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war and the intensifying conflict in the Middle East, the United States obviously does not want to see any more trouble on the Taiwan issue at this critical juncture. Of course, this is also the usual trick of the United States, that is, to engage in provocations while talking about détente, always saying one thing and doing another, and there is no need to over-interpret its meaning. In this regard, we must adhere to the principle of "giving up illusions and preparing for struggle" and resolutely respond to all possible provocative actions for Taiwan independence.