Bashi Channel

The Bashi Channel (Chinese: 巴士海峽; pinyin: Bā shì hǎi xiá)[1] is a waterway between Mavulis Island of the Philippines and Orchid Island of Taiwan. It is a part of the Luzon Strait between the East China Sea and the South China Sea. It is characterized by windy storms during the rainy period, which lasts from June to December.

Map showing the Bashi Channel (AMS, 1950)
Bashi is the northern channel of Luzon Strait

The Bashi Channel is an important passage for military operations. The Philippines and Taiwan dispute the ownership of the waters because both sides say the region lies within 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) of their shores. The channel is also significant to communication networks. Many of the undersea communication cables that carry data and telephone traffic between Asian countries pass through the Bashi Channel, making it a major potential point of failure for the Internet. In December 2006, a magnitude 6.7 submarine earthquake cut several undersea cables at the same time, causing a significant communications bottleneck that lasted several weeks.[2][3]

See also

References
  1. "Index to the New Map of South China (in English and Chinese)" (in English and Traditional Chinese). Shanghai: Far Eastern Geographical Establishment. 1914. p. 142 – via Internet Archive.
  2. Lemon, Sumner (December 27, 2006). "Earthquakes Disrupt Internet Access in Asia; A Series of Powerful Earthquakes Damages Undersea Cables and Interrupts Internet Connections in Asia". PC World. Archived from the original on 3 January 2007. Retrieved December 27, 2006.
  3. PINR report, Taiwan Quake Exposes Internet Vulnerability Archived February 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, published 15 January 2007

21°25′N 121°30′E


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