Taiwan Strait
A 180 km strait separating Taiwan from mainland Asia, connecting the South China Sea and East China Sea.
The Taiwan Strait is a 180-kilometer waterway that separates Taiwan from mainland Asia. It links the South China Sea in the south with the East China Sea in the north, and at its narrowest point, it is 126 kilometers wide. Historically, it has been called the Formosa Strait, after an older name for Taiwan, as well as the Fujian Strait, named for the Chinese province along its western shore. Another name, the Black Ditch, is a direct translation of its Hokkien and Hakka terms.
Geographically, the strait lies on Asia’s continental shelf and is almost entirely less than 150 meters deep, except for a short ravine of that depth off Taiwan’s southwest coast. It contains many islands. Off Fujian’s coast, the largest are Xiamen, Gulangyu, Pingtan, Kinmen, and Matsu—the first three controlled by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the last two by the Republic of China (ROC). Within the strait are the Penghu Islands (also called the Pescadores), also under ROC control. About 40 to 60 kilometers north of the Penghu Islands lies a major underwater bank. All of Fujian’s rivers except the Ting flow into the strait; the largest are the Min and the Jiulong.
A theoretical “median line,” sometimes called the Davis line, was defined down the middle of the strait in 1955 by U.S. Air Force General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. The U.S. then pressured both sides not to cross it, but the line never gained official or legal status and was never recognized by the PRC. Aircraft from Taiwan crossed it frequently until the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1958. Between 1954 and 2019, military craft generally avoided crossing it, except on three occasions. In 2019, Taiwan’s defense ministry provided coordinates for the line, running from 27°N, 122°E in the north to 23°N, 118°E in the south. That same year, People’s Liberation Army warplanes crossed it for the first time since 1999. By 2020, the PRC Foreign Ministry explicitly denied the line’s existence, and Chinese military exercises around Taiwan since 2022 have effectively erased the concept.
Geologically, Taiwan’s rivers carry up to 370 million tons of sediment into the sea each year, with 60 to 150 million tons deposited in the strait. Over the past ten thousand years, 600 billion tons of riverine sediment have accumulated, forming a lobe up to 40 meters thick in the southern part of the strait.
For millennia, the strait largely separated Han culture on the mainland from Taiwan’s indigenous peoples, though Hakka and Hoklo groups traded and migrated across it. During the Ming dynasty, European explorers—mainly Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch—used the strait to set up forward bases for trade and for raiding the Chinese coast and rival ships. Widespread Chinese migration began in the late Ming. During the Qing conquest, Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) expelled the Dutch and established the Kingdom of Tungning in 1661, planning to reconquer the mainland for the Southern Ming. After the Qing consolidated control, Koxinga was limited to raiding across the strait. His grandson, Zheng Keshuang, surrendered to the Qing in 1683 following the Battle of the Penghu Islands. Japan seized the Penghu Islands during the First Sino-Japanese War and gained control of Taiwan in 1895. During World War II, control of the strait’s eastern half helped Japan dominate the southern Chinese coast, though aerial warfare reached Taiwan by 1943. The 1944 Formosa Air Battle gave the U.S. Pacific Fleet air supremacy, leading to continuous bombing until Japan’s surrender in 1945. The Communist PLA’s rapid advance in 1949 forced the ROC government to retreat across the strait. After the Chinese Civil War, the PRC and ROC had several brief armed conflicts—the First, Second, and Third Taiwan Strait Crises—but these did not escalate into large-scale war. In the 21st century, cross-strait relations stabilized, leading to the establishment of the Three Links on 15 December 2008, with direct commercial flights, shipping, and postal service across the strait.
Quick Facts
- Location
- South China Sea, East China Sea (Pacific Ocean）
- Length
- 370 km
- Min Width
- 126 km
- Depth
- 60 m
- Max Depth
- 150 m
- Area
- 80000 sqkm
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Former names of the Taiwan Strait include the or from a dated name for Taiwan; the, Fukien or Fokien, from the Chinese province forming the strait's western shore; and the, a calque of the strait's name in Hokkien and Hakka. The strait mostly separated the Han culture of the Chinese mainland from Taiwan Island's aborigines for millennia, although the Hakka and Hoklo traded and migrated across it. European explorers, principally the Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch, also took advantage of the strait to establish forward bases for trade with the mainland during the Ming; the bases were also used for raiding both the Chinese coast and the trading ships of rival countries. Widespread Chinese migration across the strait began in the late Ming. During the Qing conquest, Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) expelled the Dutch and established the Kingdom of Tungning in 1661, planning to launch a reconquest of the mainland in the name of the Southern Ming branches of the old imperial dynasty. Dorgon and the Kangxi Emperor were able to consolidate their control over southern mainland China; Koxinga found himself limited to raiding across the strait. His grandson Zheng Keshuang surrendered to the Qing after his admiral lost the 1683 Battle of the Penghu Islands in the middle of the strait. Japan seized the Penghu Islands during the First Sino-Japanese War and gained control of Taiwan at its conclusion in 1895. Control of the eastern half of the strait was used to establish control of the southern Chinese coast during the Second World War. The strait protected Japanese bases and industry in Taiwan from Chinese attack and sabotage, but aerial warfare reached the island by 1943. The 1944 Formosa Air Battle gave the United States Pacific Fleet air supremacy from its carrier groups and Philippine bases; subsequently, the bombing was continuous until Japan's surrender in 1945. The rapid advance of the Communist PLA in 1949 provoked the government's retreat across the Taiwan Strait. In the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War, People's Republic of China and Republic of China had multiple brief armed conflicts on the Taiwan Strait, consequently named the First Taiwan Strait Crisis, the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, and the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis. These confrontations did not result in large-scale military conflicts between China and Taiwan.
Reader's Guide
The Taiwan Strait is the body of water separating Fujian Province from Taiwan Island. The international agreement does not define the Taiwan Strait but places its waters within the South China Sea, whose northern limit runs from Cape Fugui (the northernmost point on Taiwan Island; Fukikaku) to Niushan Island to the southernmost point of Pingtan Island and thence westward along the parallel N. to the coast of Fujian Province. The draft for a new edition of the IHO's Limits of Oceans and Seas does precisely define the Taiwan Strait, classifying it as part of the North Pacific Ocean. It makes the Taiwan Strait a body of water between the East and South China Seas and delimits it. The entire strait is on Asia's continental shelf. It is almost entirely less than 150 m deep, with a short ravine 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 are Xiamen, Gulangyu, Pingtan (the 'Haitan' of the IHO delineation), Kinmen, and Matsu. 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 the Penghu or the Pescadores, also controlled by the ROC. There is a major underwater bank 40 - 60 km north of the Penghu Islands. All of Fujian Province's rivers except the Ting run into the Taiwan Strait. The largest two are the Min and the Jiulong. A theoretical 'median line', also known as the Davis line, was defined down the middle of the strait by US Air Force General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. in 1955, after which the US pressured both sides not to cross it. As a tacit understanding, it never gained official or legal status. The PRC has never recognized the median line. Aircraft from Taiwan crossed it frequently until the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1958. Between 1954 and 2019, military craft generally did not cross the area except on three occasions. 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. In 2019, warplanes of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) crossed the median line for the first time since 1999. In 2020, the PRC Foreign Ministry explicitly denied the existence of a median line and no longer act as if such a line exists.
Did You Know?
- The narrowest part of the Taiwan Strait is 126 km wide.
- The median line was defined in 1955 by US Air Force General Benjamin O. Davis Jr.
- Each year, Taiwan's rivers carry up to 370 million tons of sediments into the sea, with 60 to 150 million tons deposited into the Taiwan Strait.
More in Straits And Channels 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced