Taiwan Strait

Taiwan Strait
A map showing the Taiwan Strait Area
Simplified Chinese	台湾海峡
Traditional Chinese	臺灣海峽 or 台灣海峽
Hokkien POJ	Tâi-ôan Hái-kiap
Transcriptions Hakka Romanization Thòi-vân Hói-hia̍p Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Táiwān Hǎixiá Min Hokkien POJ Tâi-ôan Hái-kiap Wu Romanization de平uae平 he上yah入 Cantonese Jyutping toi4waan1 hoi2haap3
Abbreviated as
Simplified Chinese	台海
Traditional Chinese	臺海 or 台海
Hokkien POJ	Tâihái
Transcriptions Hakka Romanization Thòihói Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Táihǎi Min Hokkien POJ Tâihái Wu Romanization de平he上 Cantonese Jyutping toi4hoi2

The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait, formerly known as the Black Ditch, ^[1] is a 180 kilometres (110 mi) wide strait separating the island of Taiwan from the Asian mainland. The strait is part^{[citation needed]} of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the northeast. ^{[2] [3]} The narrowest part is 130 km (81 mi) wide.^[4]

Geography

The Taiwan Strait is located between Asia and the Pacific Ocean, and it connects the South China Sea and the East China Sea. ^{[2] [3]}

The geo-location of Taiwan Strait
from Asia to Pacific  from Pacific to Asia  from East China Sea to South China Sea, and further to Singapore Strait and Strait of Malacca  from South China Sea to East China Sea, and further to Sea of Japan and Yellow Sea

Fujian Province in mainland China is to the west of the strait while the islands of Quemoy, Xiamen, Pingtan and Matsu lie just off the coast. To the east of the Strait are the west coasts of Taiwan and Penghu. The island fishermen use the strait as a fishing resource. The Min and Jiulong rivers empty into the strait.

There have been discussions about the strategic importance of the Taiwan Strait. Some Japanese politicians have claimed that the Taiwan Strait is an essential sea route for oil shipment from the Middle East via the Malacca Strait to Japan.^[5] However, some have argued that this is merely an excuse for intervention since the sea lane east of Taiwan is even shorter^[6]

History

The Strait has been the theatre for several military confrontations between Mainland China and Taiwan since the last days of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 when the Kuomintang (KMT) forces led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek retreated across the Strait and relocated their government to their final stronghold of Taiwan. A theoretical median maritime border known as the cross-strait median (海峽中線) also exists on the water to prevent certain transportation from passing.^[7]

Proposed link

As part of the People's Republic of China's National Expressway Plan, a tunnel or possibly a bridge, was proposed in 2005 to link the city of Fuzhou with Taipei across the strait （Map^[8]）. 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. However, the Republic of China government has refused to open direct links out of concern for Taiwan's security and in fear that by doing so it would have to recognize the People's Republic of China's one-China policy.^[9][10]

See also

Notes

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Taiwan Strait.

• Bush, R. & O'Hanlon, M. (2007). A War Like No Other: The Truth About China's Challenge to America. Wiley. ISBN 0-471-98677-1
• Bush, R. (2006). Untying the Knot: Making Peace in the Taiwan Strait. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 0-8157-1290-1
• Carpenter, T. (2006). America's Coming War with China: A Collision Course over Taiwan. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1-4039-6841-1
• Cole, B. (2006). Taiwan's Security: History and Prospects. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-36581-3
• Copper, J. (2006). Playing with Fire: The Looming War with China over Taiwan. Praeger Security International General Interest. ISBN 0-275-98888-0
• Federation of American Scientists et al. (2006). Chinese Nuclear Forces and U.S. Nuclear War Planning
• Gill, B. (2007). Rising Star: China's New Security Diplomacy. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 0-8157-3146-9
• Shirk, S. (2007). China: Fragile Superpower: How China's Internal Politics Could Derail Its Peaceful Rise. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-530609-0
• Tsang, S. (2006). If China Attacks Taiwan: Military Strategy, Politics and Economics. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-40785-0
• Tucker, N.B. (2005). Dangerous Strait: the U.S.-Taiwan-China Crisis. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-13564-5
• Turin, D. (2010). The Taiwan Strait: From Civil War to Status Quo. Student Pulse. Vol 2., No. 6. The Taiwan Strait: From Civil War to Status Quo
• Wallace Thies, and Patrick Bratton, “When Governments Collide in the Taiwan Strait,” Journal of Strategic Studies, 27, no. 4 (December 2004), 556–84.

v t e Fujian topics Fuzhou (capital) General History Politics Economy Geography Cities Jiulong River Min River Wuyi Mountains East China Sea South China Sea Taiwan Strait Haitan Island Education Huaqiao University Xiamen University Jimei University Xiamen University of Technology Longyan University Putian University Culture Music Hakka people Hakka architecture Dog Kung Fu Fujian tea ceremony Turtle-back tombs Cuisine Fuzhou cuisine Buddha jumps over the wall Visitor attractions Fujian Tulou Guanghua Temple Nanshan Temple Matsu pilgrimage Kaiyuan Temple Category     Commons

Coordinates: 24°48′40″N 119°55′42″E / 24.81111°N 119.92833°E / 24.81111; 119.92833