Former names of the Taiwan Strait include theFormosa Strait orStrait of Formosa, from a dated name forTaiwan; theStrait of Fokien orFujian, fromthe Chinese province forming the strait's western shore;[2] and theBlack Ditch, acalque of the strait's name inHokkien andHakka.
On the North: A line joining the coast of China(25° 42′ N -119° 36′ E) eastward to Xiang Cape(25° 40′ N -119° 47′ 10″ E), the northern extremity ofHaitan Island, and thence toFugui Cape(25° 17′ 45″ N -121° 32′ 30″ E), the northern extremity ofTaiwan Island(the common limit with theEast China Sea, see 7.3).
On the East: FromFugui Cape southward, along the western coast ofTaiwan Island, toEluan Cape(21° 53′ 45″ N -120° 51′ 30″ E), the southern extremity of this island.
On the South: A line joiningEluan Cape northwestward, along the southern banks ofNanao Island, to the southeastern extremity of this island(23° 23′ 35″ N -117° 07′ 15″ E); thence westward, along the southern coast ofNanao Island, to Changshan Head(23° 25′ 50″ N -116° 56′ 25″ E), the western extremity of this island; and thence a line joining Changshan Head westward to the mouth of theHanjiang River(23° 27′ 30″ N -116° 52′ E), on the coast of China(the common limit with the South China Sea, see 6.1).
On the West: From the mouth ofHanjiang River northeastward, along the coast of China, to position25° 42′ N -119° 36′ E.
The entire strait is on Asia'scontinental shelf. It is almost entirely less than 150 m (490 ft; 82 fathoms) deep, with a shortravine of that depth off the southwest coast of Taiwan. As such, there are many islands in the strait. The largest and most important islands off the coast of Fujian areXiamen,Gulangyu,Pingtan (the "Haitan" of the IHO delineation),Kinmen, andMatsu. The first three are controlled by the People's Republic of China (PRC); the last two by the Republic Of China (ROC). Within the strait lie thePenghu or the Pescadores, also controlled by the ROC. There is a majorunderwater bank 40–60 km (25–37 mi) north of the Penghu Islands.[6]
All of Fujian Province's rivers except theTing run into the Taiwan Strait. The largest two are theMin and theJiulong.[citation needed]
A theoretical "median line", also known as the Davis line, was defined down the middle of the strait by US Air Force GeneralBenjamin O. Davis Jr. in 1955, after which the US pressured both sides not to cross it.[7] As a tacit understanding, it never gained official or legal status.[8]: 19 The PRC has never recognized the median line.[8]: 19 Aircraft from Taiwan crossed it frequently until theSecond Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1958.[9] Between 1954 and 2019, generally did not cross[who?] the area, with military craft crossing three times in that period.[8]: 19
In 2019, Taiwan's defense ministry provided coordinates for the median line. The ministry recognizes the line as running from 27°N, 122°E in the north to 23°N, 118°E on the southern end.[10]
In 2019, PLA warplanes crossed the median line for the first time since 1999.[11][12] In 2020, thePRC Foreign Ministry explicitly denied the existence of a median line and no longer act as if such a line exists.[13][8]: 19
Each year, Taiwan's rivers carry up to 370 million tons of sediments into the sea, including 60 to 150 million tons deposited into the Taiwan Strait.[14] During the past ten thousand years, 600 billion tons of riverine sediments have been deposited in the Taiwan Strait, locally forming a lobe up to 40 m thick in the southern part of the Taiwan Strait.[14]
Holocence sediment depth in the Taiwan strait, in meters
The Taiwan strait appeared at the start of the current warmer period.
The Strait mostly separated theHanculture of the Chinese mainland fromTaiwan Island'saborigines for millennia, although theHakka andHoklo traded and migrated across it.European explorers, principally thePortuguese,Spanish andDutch, also took advantage of the strait to establish forward bases for trade with the mainland during theMing; the bases were also used forraiding both the Chinese coast and the trading ships of rival countries.[citation needed]
Widespread Chinese migration across the strait began in the lateMing. During theQingconquest, Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) expelled the Dutch and established theKingdom of Tungning in 1661, planning to launch a reconquest of the mainland in the name of theSouthern Ming branches of the old imperial dynasty.Dorgon and theKangxi Emperor were able to consolidate their control over southern mainland China; Koxinga found himself limited to raiding across the strait. His grandsonZheng Keshuang surrendered to the Qing after his admiral lost the 1683Battle of the Penghu Islands in the middle of the strait.[citation needed]
On 25 May 2002,China Airlines Flight 611 broke up in mid-air and crashed into the Taiwan Strait, killing all 225 people on board.[15] On 26 February 2022, China denounced the sailing of the U.S. Navy's7th FleetArleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyerUSS Ralph Johnson through the Taiwan Strait as a "provocative act".[16]
Since 2018China has denied that the concept ofinternational waters applies to the Taiwan Strait.[17] China does not claim sovereignty over the entire strait but seeks to regulate what it views as "support for the Taiwan authorities and muscle-flexing against the mainland".[18][19] This position has led to concerns from American, Australian, and French officials and objection from Taiwan.[20][21][22] "International waters" is technically not defined by theUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and there is no high seas corridor within the Taiwan Strait, but transit rights mimicking high seas such asinnocent passage andfreedom of navigation are generally allowed withinexclusive economic zones.[18]
Fishermen have used the strait as a fishing resource since time immemorial. In the modern world, it is the gateway used by ships of almost every kind on passage to and from nearly all the important ports inNortheast Asia.[23] Chinese vessels often trespass into Taiwanese territorial waters to fish or dredge sand, leading to interceptions by theCoast Guard Administration as well as seizures, confiscations, and fines.[24]
^abcdZhao, Suisheng (2024). "Is Beijing's Long Game on Taiwan about to End? Peaceful Unification, Brinksmanship, and Military Takeover". InZhao, Suisheng (ed.).The Taiwan Question in Xi Jinping's Era: Beijing's Evolving Taiwan Policy and Taiwan's Internal and External Dynamics. London and New York:Routledge.ISBN9781032861661.
S-23: Limits of Oceans and Seas (4th (draft) ed.), Monaco: International Hydrographic Organization, 1986, archived fromthe original on 12 April 2016, retrieved21 March 2019.
