[News Spot] The Renewed Tensions at the China-Taiwan Powder Keg 'Jinmendao'

The waters of ‘Jinmendao,’ where two Chinese fishermen died while evading a crackdown by the Taiwan Coast Guard, are known as a ‘powder keg’ between China and Taiwan.

Like Yeonpyeong Island in South Korea, it is a frontline island located right in front of enemy territory, but it is more than 200 km away from Taiwan’s main island. In contrast, it is only 4 km away from Xiamen City, a major city in Fujian Province on the Chinese mainland. China has erected a large billboard in Xiamen, directly opposite Jinmendao, bearing the slogan ‘One Country, Two Systems Unify China’ (一國兩制統一中國), monitoring the area. Although it is a small island with an area of 151 km², about half the size of Geoje Island, and home to around 100,000 residents, China also regards Jinmendao as a strategic stronghold.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Jinmendao drew global attention in 1949 when the Kuomintang (KMT) of Taiwan made it their last line of defense during the final stages of the Chinese Civil War against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). At that time, the KMT successfully defended the island after fierce battles with the CCP’s People’s Liberation Army, incorporating it into Taiwanese territory.

However, Chinese shelling has continued since then, keeping the area under high military tension. In fact, China attempted to seize the island in 1958 by bombarding it with hundreds of thousands of artillery shells. As Chinese shelling persisted intermittently, Taiwan undertook fortification work until 1992, connecting the entire island with underground tunnels and shelters. The whole island, measuring 20 km east to west and 5 to 10 km north to south, is interconnected underground like a net.

During President Ma Ying-jeou’s administration (2008?2016), Jinmendao was temporarily called the ‘Island of Reconciliation.’ Thanks to Ma’s cross-strait reconciliation policy, the island’s underground fortresses transformed into a tourist attraction visited by hundreds of thousands annually, and starting in 2009, a ‘Cross-Strait Swimming Competition’ was held in the waters between Jinmendao and Xiamen City in Fujian Province.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is attending the 65th anniversary event of the "Kinmen Island Artillery Battle" held in Kinmen on August 23, 2023, to honor the fallen soldiers. Kinmen Island is Taiwan's frontline military base located just 6 km away from Xiamen, Fujian Province, China. From August 23 to October 5, 1958, a large-scale artillery battle took place between China and Taiwan for 44 days.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, after the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government led by President Tsai Ing-wen, who favors Taiwan independence, took power, Jinmendao reverted to a high-risk war zone. Especially after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August 2022, 19 Chinese drones threatened Jinmendao, escalating tensions across the strait. In response, newly formed political groups in the Jinmen County Council, such as the ‘Cross-Political Alliance’ and the ‘Non-Partisan Alliance Political Group,’ proposed making Jinmendao a permanently demilitarized zone, but tensions in the area remain high. The recent capsizing of a Chinese fishing boat on the 14th in the waters between Fujian Province and Jinmendao has sharply intensified the confrontation between China and Taiwan, raising concerns about potential further conflicts in the future.