First Taiwan Strait Crisis

1954-09-03 - 1955-05-01

Brief armed conflict in 1954-1955 between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China over ROC-held offshore islands near the Chinese mainland. The PRC began heavy bombardment of Kinmen (Quemoy) in September 1954, extended shelling to Matsu and Tachen, seized the Yijiangshan Islands in January 1955, and took the Dachen Islands while the US Navy helped evacuate ROC troops. The crisis de-escalated in April 1955 after Premier Zhou Enlai offered negotiations at the Bandung Conference, but the underlying issues remained unresolved.