Third Taiwan Strait Crisis

Significance

The Third Taiwan Strait Crisis consisted of a series of People's Republic of China missile tests conducted in waters surrounding Taiwan, including the Taiwan Strait, from July 1995 through March 1996. The PRC framed the first phase of tests as a signal directed at the ROC government under President Lee Teng-hui, whom Beijing accused of moving Taiwan's foreign policy away from the One-China policy. The second phase coincided with Taiwan's 1996 presidential election, with the missile firings allegedly intended to intimidate the Taiwanese electorate ahead of the vote. The crisis engaged senior military and civilian leadership on both sides, as well as U.S. commanders including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and Pacific Fleet officers, reflecting the extent to which the confrontation drew in American strategic interests alongside the direct cross-strait dimension. The episode tested the limits of PRC coercive pressure and the resilience of Taiwan's democratic process within the unresolved framework of the Chinese Civil War's political legacy.

Commanders (19)