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 (195455) 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.
By:
Bruce A. Elleman
Imprint: Anthem Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 153mm,
Spine: 26mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781839980909
ISBN 10: 1839980907
Pages: 184
Publication Date: 10 August 2021
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
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.
Bruce A. Elleman has a PhD from Columbia University and is the author of twenty-five books. Several of Elleman's books have been translated into foreign languages. Elleman also obtained a master of arts in national security and strategic studies (with distinction) from the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, in 2004.
Reviews for Taiwan Straits Standoff: 70 Years of PRC–Taiwan Cross-Strait Tensions
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
