Taiwan Strait
- Taiwan Strait is a 180-kilometre-wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and mainland China.
- The strait is also called Formosa Strait.
- The strait is currently part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north
- The narrowest part is 130 km wide.
- The entire strait is on Asia’s continental shelf.
- It reaches a depth of about 230 feet (70 m) and contains the Pescadores Islands (which are controlled by the government of Taiwan).
- The chief ports are Amoy in mainland China and Kao-hsiung in Taiwan.
- Note: A strait is a narrow piece of the sea connecting two seas.
What is the median line of the Taiwan Strait?
- It is the informal dividing line in the Taiwan Strait between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.
- It came about during the Cold War as a way to try and delineate the two opposing sides and reduce the risk of clashes.
- No agreement or treaty ever solidified its status. But over the decades, it helped keep Taiwan and China’s militaries apart.
Latest News
- 12 April 2023
- Seventy-one Chinese military aircraft crossed the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait recently as China began drills around Taiwan.
- 31 September 2022:
- Two U.S. Navy warships sailed through international waters in the Formosa Strait, the first such operation since a visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi enraged China which regards the island as its territory.
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