On the West: From the mouth of Hanjiang River northeastward, along the coast of China, to position 25° 42′ N - 119° 36′ E.The entire strait is on Asia's continental shelf.

The largest and most important islands off the coast of Fujian are Xiamen, Gulangyu, Pingtan (the "Haitan" of the IHO delineation), Kinmen, and Matsu.

[14] The Strait mostly separated the Han culture of the Chinese mainland from Taiwan Island's aborigines for millennia, although the Hakka and Hoklo traded and migrated across it.

During the Qing conquest, Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) expelled the Dutch and established the Kingdom of Tungning in 1661, planning to launch a reconquest of the mainland in the name of the Southern Ming branches of the old imperial dynasty.

Dorgon and the Kangxi Emperor were able to consolidate their control over southern mainland China; Koxinga found himself limited to raiding across the strait.

His grandson Zheng Keshuang surrendered to the Qing after his admiral lost the 1683 Battle of the Penghu Islands in the middle of the strait.

The strait protected Japanese bases and industry in Taiwan from Chinese attack and sabotage, but aerial warfare reached the island by 1943.

In the 21st century, the Cross-Strait relations stabilized, leading to the establishment of Three Links on 15 December 2008, with the commencement of direct commercial flights, shipping, and post across the Taiwan Strait.

[15] On 26 February 2022, China denounced the sailing of the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson through the Taiwan Strait as a "provocative act".

[17] China does not claim sovereignty over the entire strait but seeks to regulate what it views as "support for the Taiwan authorities and muscle-flexing against the mainland".

[23] Chinese vessels often trespass into Taiwanese territorial waters to fish or dredge sand, leading to interceptions by the Coast Guard Administration as well as seizures, confiscations, and fines.