The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait, also known as the Black Ditch (Chinese:烏水溝; Pe̍h-ōe-jī:O͘-chúi-kau), is a 180 kilometres (110mi) wide strait separating the island of Taiwan from the Asian mainland. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is 130km (81mi) wide.
The Taiwan Strait is located between Asia and the island of Taiwan.
Much of China's Fujian Province is situated west of the strait while the islands of Kinmen, Xiamen, Pingtan and Matsu lie just off the coast. Penghu lies in the east of the strait. The island fishermen use the strait as a fishing resource. The Min and Jiulong rivers empty into the strait. Taiwan also administers Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu.
The Strait has been the theatre for several military confrontations between the PLAN and ROCN 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.
Taiwan is a tilted fault block, characterized by the contrast between the eastern two-thirds, consisting mostly of five rugged mountain ranges parallel to the east coast, and the flat to gently rolling plains of the western third, where most of Taiwan's population reside. There are several peaks over 3,500m, the highest being Yu Shan at 3,952 metres (12,966ft), making Taiwan the world's fourth-highest island. The tectonic boundary that formed these ranges is still active, and the island experiences many earthquakes, a few of them highly destructive. There are also many active submarine volcanoes in the Taiwan Straits.
... including within the Taiwan Strait” (emphasis added) ... The US maintains, “The Taiwan Strait is an international waterway, meaning that the Taiwan Strait is an area where high-seas freedoms, including freedom of navigation and overflight, are guaranteed under international law.”.
BEIJING, June 25 -- The US sent a P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft to fly over the Taiwan Strait on June 24 and hyped it up publicly ... and stability across the Taiwan Strait, the Chinese side is adamantly opposed to that.
Wang also encouraged them to set a good example in opposing so-called "Taiwan independence" and facilitating reunification. They should also work to secure the interests of Taiwan compatriots, and do their part in enhancing cross-Strait exchanges and communication, Wang said.
believes China remains its “pacing threat” and the Indo-Pacific its “priority theater.” In addition, U.S.-China relations are strained over Taiwan... supports Taiwan through economic ties and weapons sales ... Navy warships in the South China Sea, over which China claims large portions, and Navy transits through the Taiwan Strait.
There's been much focus on the China-Taiwan relations and the situation across the Taiwan Strait in the aftermath of the Russian attack on Ukraine... But it has not helped the overall situation across the Taiwan Straits ... If China questions the freedom of navigation through the Taiwan ...
Earlier on Friday, a US NavyP-8A Poseidon reconnaissance plane flew over the Taiwan Strait. The flyover of surveillance plane over the Taiwan Strait was a demonstration of the US "commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," amid recurrent Chinese incursion in Taiwan's ADIZ, US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement.
We have an abiding interest in peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. We will continue to assist Taiwan in maintaining a sufficient self-defence capability," stating further that the US is committed to Taiwan in every possible way and will continue to maintain peace and ...
Guatemalan PresidentAlejandro Giammattei has said that his country would keep its diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The pledge came after Beijing has in the past few years increased its attempt to poach Taiwan’s allies amid heightened cross-strait tensions ... “So while I am president, I recognize one China and it is called Taiwan.”.
"The ship has achieved full operational capability and demonstrated its capabilities in deterring possible foreign military interference in the Taiwan Strait at a time when the US and Japan have been repeatedly provoking China over the Taiwan question," the Global Times reported ... Is that enough to take Taiwan by force?.
The vessels are essential to so-called Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO), an effort by the Navy and Marines to more widely and wisely spread their forces around the globe, including places like the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, where the US is having territorial disputes with China... It also can repair other ships ... U.S ...Major ... .
The Taiwan Strait has been a frequent source of military tension since ...China has said previously that it has sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait while the United States and Taiwan assert that the strait separating the island from China is an international waterway.