Formosa Resolution of 1955
The Formosa Resolution was a bill enacted by the U.S. Congress on January 29, 1955 that established an American commitment to defend Formosa (Taiwan). As a matter of American foreign policy, President Dwight D. Eisenhower promised to protect "territories in the West Pacific under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China" (i.e. Taiwan) against invasion by the People's Republic of China. The legislation provided the President with the power to intervene if the island was attacked.
The legislation was prompted, in part, by attacks on the islands of Kinmen and Matsu in the Taiwan Straits by the Chinese People's Liberation Army in 1954. Both islands had been held by the Chinese Nationalists government of the Republic of China led by Chiang Kai-shek, which then also controlled the island of Taiwan.
Following the enactment of the Formosa Resolution, the People's Republic of China and the United States successfully negotiated an agreement to stop the bombing of the islands in the Taiwan Straits. This peaceful result ended the First Taiwan Strait Crisis.
Both the House and Senate approved this resolution: 85 to 3 in the Senate and 409 to 3 in the House.
This resolution expires "when the President shall determine that the peace and security of the area is reasonably assured by international conditions created by action of the United Nations or otherwise, and shall so report to the Congress.".
