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The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait is a 180-km-wide (111.85-mile-wide) strait
Strait

A strait or straits is a narrow, navigable channel of water that connects two larger navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not navigable, for example because it is too shallow, or...
 between mainland China
Mainland China

Mainland China, Continental China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China , excluding Hong Kong and Macau, which run on One Country, Two Systems....
 and Taiwan
Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
. The strait
Strait

A strait or straits is a narrow, navigable channel of water that connects two larger navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not navigable, for example because it is too shallow, or...
 is part of the South China Sea
South China Sea

The South China Sea is a marginal sea*south of China,*west of the Philippines,*north west of Sabah , Sarawak and Brunei,*north of Indonesia,...
 and connects to East China Sea
East China Sea

The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km?. In China, the sea is called the East Sea....
 to the northeast. The narrowest part is 131 km (81.4 mi.) wide.

Fujian
Fujian

is one of the Province of China on the southeast coast of People's Republic of China. Fujian borders Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south....
 province in mainland China is to the west of the strait, while important islands like Jinmen, Xiamen
Xiamen

Xiamen, also known as Amoy , is a coastal sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian province of China, People's Republic of China. It looks out to the Taiwan Strait and borders Quanzhou to the north and Zhangzhou to the south....
, Hainan Island, and the Matsu Islands
Matsu Islands

The Matsu Islands are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County , Fujian Province, Republic of China of the Republic of China ....
 are nearby. To the east are the west coast of Taiwan and Penghu.






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The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait is a 180-km-wide (111.85-mile-wide) strait
Strait

A strait or straits is a narrow, navigable channel of water that connects two larger navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not navigable, for example because it is too shallow, or...
 between mainland China
Mainland China

Mainland China, Continental China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China , excluding Hong Kong and Macau, which run on One Country, Two Systems....
 and Taiwan
Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
. The strait
Strait

A strait or straits is a narrow, navigable channel of water that connects two larger navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not navigable, for example because it is too shallow, or...
 is part of the South China Sea
South China Sea

The South China Sea is a marginal sea*south of China,*west of the Philippines,*north west of Sabah , Sarawak and Brunei,*north of Indonesia,...
 and connects to East China Sea
East China Sea

The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km?. In China, the sea is called the East Sea....
 to the northeast. The narrowest part is 131 km (81.4 mi.) wide.

Fujian
Fujian

is one of the Province of China on the southeast coast of People's Republic of China. Fujian borders Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south....
 province in mainland China is to the west of the strait, while important islands like Jinmen, Xiamen
Xiamen

Xiamen, also known as Amoy , is a coastal sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian province of China, People's Republic of China. It looks out to the Taiwan Strait and borders Quanzhou to the north and Zhangzhou to the south....
, Hainan Island, and the Matsu Islands
Matsu Islands

The Matsu Islands are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County , Fujian Province, Republic of China of the Republic of China ....
 are nearby. To the east are the west coast of Taiwan and Penghu. The island fishermen use the strait as a fishing resource.

The Strait has been the theatre for several military
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 confrontations between the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
 and the Republic of China
Republic of China

The Republic of China , also known as Nationalist China is a country in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition into a multi-party democratic state with Political status of Taiwan....
 since the last days of the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War

The Chinese Civil War or , which lasted from April 1927 to May 1950, was a civil war in China between the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party ....
 in 1949 when the Kuomintang
Kuomintang

The Kuomintang of China , also often translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is the founding and the ruling party of the Republic of China ....
 (KMT) forces led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek , Order of the Bath , served as Generalissimo of the Nationalist Government of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1948. He was sometimes referred to simply as "the Generalissimo"....
 retreated across the Strait and relocated its government on its final stronghold of Taiwan.

As part of Mainland China's National Expressway Plan, a tunnel or possibly a bridge, was proposed in 2005 to link the cities of Fuzhou
Fuzhou

is the capital and the largest prefecture-level city of Fujian Provinces of China, People's Republic of China. It is also referred to as Rongcheng which means "city of banyan trees" and Mindong ...
, Fujian
Fujian

is one of the Province of China on the southeast coast of People's Republic of China. Fujian borders Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south....
 on mainland China, with Taipei
Taipei

Taipei has been the de facto capital of the Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan, since the Chinese Civil War in 1949, and the capital of Taiwan since Japanese rule that began in 1895....
 on Taiwan
Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
 across the Taiwan Strait. If such an extreme construction would ever be built, it would by far exceed the length of any man-made tunnel in the world today. Engineers in Beijing state that a tunnel is technically feasible. Taipei had refused to open direct links out of concern for the island's security and in fear that by doing so it would have to recognise Beijing's one-China policy
One-China policy

The One-China policy is a principle that there is one China and that mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are all part of that China. The acceptance or rejection of this principle is a major factor in cross-strait relations between the People's Republic of China controlling mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau and the Republic of Chin...
.

The Minjiang
Minjiang River (Fujian)

The Min River is a 577km-long river in Fujian province, China. It is the largest river in Fujian, and an important water transport channel.The name should not to be confused with the Min River , which is written ??....
 and Jiulong
Jiulong River

The Jiulong River or Jiulong Jiang is the largest river in southern Fujian, and the second largest in the province. Like all Fujianese rivers Tingjiang river, it flows into the Taiwan Strait....
 Rivers empty into the strait.

See also

  • Cross-Strait relations
    Cross-Strait relations

    Cross-Strait relations refers to the relations between mainland China, which sits to the west of the Taiwan Strait, and Taiwan, which sits to the east; especially the relations between their respective governments, the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China ....
  • Battle of Kuningtou
    Battle of Kuningtou

    The Battle of Kuningtou or Battle of Jinmen was a battle fought over Kinmen in the Taiwan Strait during the Chinese Civil War in 1949. The failure of the Communist Party of China to take the island left it in the hands of the Kuomintang and crushed their chances of taking Taiwan to defeat the Nationalists completely in the war....
  • First Taiwan Strait Crisis
    First Taiwan Strait Crisis

    The First Taiwan Strait Crisis was a short armed conflict that took place between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China governments....
  • Second Taiwan Strait Crisis
    Second Taiwan Strait Crisis

    The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict that took place between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China governments in which the PRC shelled the islands of Matsu Islands and Quemoy in the Taiwan Strait in an attempt to seize them from the Republic of China....
  • Third Taiwan Strait Crisis
    Third Taiwan Strait Crisis

    The Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1995-1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis or the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was the effect of a series of missile tests conducted by the People's Republic of China in the waters surrounding Taiwan including the Taiwan Strait from July 21, 1995 to March 23, 1996....
  • Political status of Taiwan
    Political status of Taiwan

    The controversy regarding the political status of Taiwan hinges on whether Taiwan, including Penghu, should remain effectively independent as territory of the Republic of China , become Chinese reunification with the territories now governed by the People's Republic of China , or formally declare independence and become the Republic of Taiwa...
  • Taiwan Strait Tunnel Project
    Taiwan Strait Tunnel Project

    The Taiwan Strait Tunnel Project is an undersea tunnel or bridge proposed primarily by the Chinese government to link Pingtan in China to Hsinchu in northern Taiwan....
  • China Airlines flight 611
    China Airlines Flight 611

    China Airlines Flight 611 Callsign: Dynasty 611 was a Boeing 747 on a regular scheduled flight from Chiang Kai Shek International Airport in Taoyuan County to Chek Lap Kok International Airport in Hong Kong on 25 May 2002....
  • Luzon Strait
    Luzon Strait

    The Luzon Strait is an important strait connecting the Philippine Sea, in the western Pacific Ocean, to the South China Sea, between Taiwan and Luzon in the Philippines....


Further reading

  • Bush, R. & O'Hanlon, M. (2007). A War Like No Other: The Truth About China's Challenge to America. Wiley. ISBN 0471986771
  • Bush, R. (2006). Untying the Knot: Making Peace in the Taiwan Strait. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 0815712901
  • Carpenter, T. (2006). America's Coming War with China: A Collision Course over Taiwan. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1403968411
  • Cole, B. (2006). Taiwan's Security: History and Prospects. Routledge. ISBN 0415365813
  • Copper, J. (2006). Playing with Fire: The Looming War with China over Taiwan. Praeger Security International General Interest. ISBN 0275988880
  • Federation of American Scientists et al. (2006).
  • Gill, B. (2007). Rising Star: China's New Security Diplomacy. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 0815731469
  • Shirk, S. (2007). China: Fragile Superpower: How China's Internal Politics Could Derail Its Peaceful Rise. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195306090
  • Tsang, S. (2006). If China Attacks Taiwan: Military Strategy, Politics and Economics. Routledge. ISBN 0415407850
  • Tucker, N.B. (2005). Dangerous Strait: the U.S.-Taiwan-China Crisis. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231135645