Newport Papers
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Description
Following its defeat on the mainland in 1949, the Nationalist government retreated to Taiwan. Although the Nationalist navy was comparatively large, to many it seemed almost certain that the People's Republic of China (PRC) would attack and take Taiwan, perhaps as early as summer 1950. The Korean War began on 25 June 1950, however, and the possibility of a PRC invasion of Taiwan was countered when on 27 June President Harry S. Truman ordered the Seventh Fleet to "neutralize" the Taiwan Strait. Mao Zedong at first postponed and eventually canceled altogether his planned invasion of Taiwan.
ISBN
978-1-884733-95-6
Publication Date
2012
Publisher
U.S. Naval War College Press
City
Newport, Rhode Island
Keywords
Newport Papers, China, Taiwan, East Asia, South China Sea, Seventh Fleet
Recommended Citation
Elleman, Bruce A., "High Seas Buffer" (2012). Newport Papers. 38.
https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/usnwc-newport-papers/38
