Nuclear Close Call - The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis

In 1958, the 2nd Taiwan Strait Crisis broke out between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC). Cold War tensions had increased an already tense situation between the PRC, based on the Chinese mainland, and the ROC, in Taiwan. As the Communists gained the upper hand in the Chinese Civil War, the Chinese Nationalists, often called the Kuomintang, retreated to the island of Taiwan in late-1949. The so-called Two-Chinas remained in conflict for decades. The crisis of 1958 was not the first time the two sides came into conflict in the Taiwan Strait. Beginning in September 1954, in what became known as the First Taiwan Strait Crisis, full-scale combat broke between the ROC and PRC, as Mao Zedong wanted the PRC to invade Taiwan. American intervention, and guarantees to protect the ROC moving forward, brought the crisis to an end. After the beginning of the Great Leap Forward in the PRC, tensions flared up again in the Taiwan Strait. In August 1958, PRC artillery shelled the ROC controlled islands of Kinmen, also known as Quemoy, and the Matsu Islands. These islands are closer to the Chinese mainland coast than Taiwan. Dogfights also broke out pitting PRC MiG…