Taiwan and larger than Belgium. The island of Taiwan has an area of , and lies some from the southeastern coast of mainland China across the Taiwan Strait. The East China Sea lies to the north, the Philippine Sea to the east, the Bashi Channel of the Luzon Strait directly to the south, and the South China Sea to the southwest. Its shape is similar to a sweet potato, giving rise to the slang term "hanji" ("sweet potato" in Hokkien) used by Taiwanese Hokkien speakers to refer to people of native Taiwanese descent. The island is characterized by the contrast between
The Conflict Over the Sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands -- between Taiwan (ROC), China (PRC), & Japan Jiajing Period of the Ming Dynasty, Japanese pirates invaded China’s southeast coast of China frequently. China was forced to implement effective jurisdiction over the Diaoyu Islands and other islands and patrolled the sea. In the 40th year of Ming Jiajing (1561), Zheng Ruozeng’s "Wanli Coastal Defense Map" included the Diaoyu Islands and eventually recognized these islands as a part of their coastal defense system. In the Qing Dynasty’s royal history inspection report of Taiwan and local compilation of the Fujian Province, they claimed Taiwan was officially ruled under the jurisdiction of the Qing Dynasty in the 22nd year of Kangxi