Taiwan Straits Standoff

70 Years of PRCTaiwan Cross-Strait Tensions

By (author) Bruce A. Elleman

Publication date:

10 August 2021

Publisher

Anthem Press

Dimensions:

229x153mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781839980909

Following the Nationalist defeat on the mainland in 1949, Chiang Kai-shek and his followers retreated to Taiwan, forming the Republic of China (ROC). Tensions with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) focused on control over a number of offshore islands, especially Quemoy (Jinmen) and Matsu (Mazu). Twice in the 1950s tensions peaked, during the first (1954–55) and second (1958) Taiwan Strait crises. This small body of water—often compared to the English Channel—separates the PRC and Taiwan, and has been the location for periodic military tensions, some threatening to end in war. Today, relations between the ROC and PRC depend on quelling tensions over the Taiwan Strait. This work provides a short, but highly relevant, history of the Taiwan Strait, and its significance today.

Introduction: Stalemate Along the Taiwan Straits, 1949-2020; Chapter 1: The Two Chinas and the Battle for Control of Offshore Islands; Chapter 2: President Harry S. Truman’s Decision to Protect Taiwan; Chapter 3: The First Taiwan Strait Crisis, 1954–1955; Chapter 4: The Evacuation of the Dachen Islands, 1955; Chapter 5: The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, 1958; Chapter 6: The U.S. Threat to Use Atomic Weapons; Chapter 7: Using Taiwan to Undermine the Sino-Soviet Alliance; Chapter 8: Taiwan During the Cold War and Afterwards; Conclusion: The Taiwan Strait’s Strategic Significance Today; Appendix 1: Naval Terms and Acronym List; Selected Bibliography.

“By drawing on a wealth of archival sources, Elleman conveys a fascinating picture of the unfolding of American strategic goals and actions during the Cold War years.” — Harold Tanner, Professor of Chinese History, University of North Texas